Chimera of Life: Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony
by Heartfire
Summary: Yes, sorry for the delay but here's Trowa's NEW chapters from 7-12!
1. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 1

- Chimera of Life - ****

- Chimera of Life -  
Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter One  
By Heartfire 

~*~

_

"They say eternity- as though real.  
Love.  
Is that eternity?  
The sweetest thing in the world-  
To hear him admit that he treasures me.  
Maybe then I will feel eternity.  


_

I do not have eternity.  
Just forever yours."  


~*~

(**Heartfire's Note**: Hello readers. I hope you will enjoy my fiction. This is a SAGA, very much like KIT's own- where I got the idea.   
I want you all to know that if it weren't for two individuals, this tale would never have come to be:   
First off, KIT. Without her time and effort, I would never have come about and this would literature would never be. I would say that I'd like her to be a co-author but she decided that I should take the spotlight.   
Readers, if you know her, sorry to inform you that she wouldn't be writing any time soon… I quite tired her out. Gomen ne, KIT.   
Secondly, to ENYALIS, who pushed me to write, continuously, patiently let me ramble on and on, among other things. Arigatoo, dear friend.   
Alright, let us go on with the story, shall we? Disclaimers and Warnings for this whole saga: Expletives, Lime scenes, candy sweet instances, and more later on. You've been warned.) 

Duo screeched into the office, his feet burning the rubber soles of his new sneakers as he scrambled to get his balance back and to push the door shut at the same time. His chest went up and down with each consecutive, haggard breath while his head fell backwards, eyes closed, and a soft thunk whispered as he hit the wooden door.

From behind her desk, Hilde looked up, ready with an eyebrow raised as her gaze traveled from Duo's still steaming shoes, to his black trousers, and ragged white dress shirt underneath a black overcoat. "Duo, how many times do I have to tell you to wear your dress shoes in here?" She didn't care about her reprimanding tone. She had offered her services during those first few times that Duo came into her office in such a state but she was so used to it now that it didn't really affect her anymore—well, her nurturing side. However, it does affect her thirst for vengeance, slash, jealous side.

"Aw, c'mon Hilde… Gimme a break…" Duo opened his eyes to give Hilde a pitiful look. "I just did a ten-mile marathon-"

Hilde leaned back in her tan, leather chair, barred herself from Duo's 'take-pity-on-me look' then interrupted his deplorable excuse. "Who was it this time? The blonde, the redhead, or the brunette?"

Duo grimaced. "All of them." The woeful look he had on his face just seconds ago turned into a contemptible one. "I was just walking down the street, minding my own business when," Duo placed his hands on his chest. "Duo! Oh Duo!" His voice came out high-pitched and Hilde forced herself to keep the stern look she had on her face.

Coy voices from outside her office seeped into the crack between her door and the floor, and Duo's eyes widened. Hilde almost laughed out loud. The Gundam pilot was afraid of a bunch of girls! She watched as he gave her an all too familiar look, coupled with mouthing the word- 'HELP!'

Hilde let him simmer in his boiling pot of water just for the fun of it. "I thought you liked the publicity. Let me see… how did you phrase it? 'Its good for the company', I think that's what you said."

Duo shook his head and clasped his hands together to beseech her assistance as she had done so before. All right! So, when the article about him being in the top ten eligible bachelors came out in that magazine, his ego was stroked. He liked the compliments. He liked the attention. Hell! He liked the girls that doubled around him! But being a celebrity was more tiring than work! The only upside of this situation was the exercise he got out of running away from them! Was there something wrong with him that not one girl he'd been out with had held his interest? Made him want to please her and make her forever his?

She let him mouth the words 'Please' and 'Help' for a minute more before she stood up and walked around the desk. Duo's eyes lit up like a firecracker in the middle of the night and she shook her head, disgusted at herself. She should have let him handle this on his own. He should just tell those girls he didn't want to see them, but no… He… well… he was too nice for that, dammit. "I'm just going to get your shoes. You dropped them off on Jake's desk again, right?" Duo nodded and she continued, "Anyway, I'm not going to do anything but get your shoes, so by the time I come back in here, I want to see you presentable."

'THANK YOU!' Duo mouthed the words and brought his clasped hands above his head as he bowed consecutively.

Hilde rolled her eyes. "You do know that this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't slept late again, don't you?"

Duo nodded. At that moment, he would agree to anything she said, just to get those suffocating girls outta his way!

A sigh escaped Hilde's lips. She really should stop being such a softie to him… Minutes later, she walked back inside her office only to see Duo pacing back and forth, the epitome of solemnity with his hands crossed over his broad, muscular chest with his eyebrows drawn together. Her intuition rang a thousand chiming bells of danger at the sight. 

Duo stopped and turned to her the moment he became aware of her presence. "Hey, thanks Hilde. You're a real pal."

Hilde stopped a grimace. 'Yeah… a real pal. That's all I am to you, you stupid mammal.' Instead, she just walked to her desk, and pushed the pair of shoes into his hands just as she passed him. "Put these on before one of our clients walks in."

Instead of following, Duo just dropped the shoes on her desk and started pacing once again. She couldn't help but stare. It was so rare to see him this serious that it was just a pleasure.

"Hilde, this has got to end!" Duo stopped in the middle of her office and faced her. 

Hilde shrugged. "Well… If you hate it so much, why don't you just write to the magazine and tell them to shut up about you."

Duo made a face. "If I do that, I might make them mad and put MS Industries in a bad light, not to mention that its an indirect slap in the face."

She could see the ideas roll one by one on his expressive face. He kept on seeing so many flaws in them though- that was until… He turned to face Hilde and a wild, ingenious idea started to form… it was so wild that it just might work!

Once again, danger bells rang in her head and Hilde felt the urge to slowly back away and get out of her office. She started edging toward the door as she gave Duo an uptight frown. "I don't like how you're looking at me… Whatever it is- no! Playing girlfriend so that you could break up with some of your girls was already harsh enough."

The wide smile on Duo's lips didn't leave. It was as if she never said anything at all! And actually, he did hear her but he chose not to think about it. Selective hearing, as Hilde always told him. The thing was, the plan really might work!

Hilde turned around when she felt the door. Her hand reached for the knob, the want to get out of her office tore at her so badly it was suffocating.

Duo quickly went to her side to stop her. She was the only one who could play this part with him! She was the only one who understood him and who would willingly play this without asking for something more afterwards.

His hand went around hers on the knob and Hilde's heartbeat skipped. Already, she knew she was cornered. She was preparing herself to say 'NO!' to him when he spoke.

"Hilde-"

His breath against her ear sent tingles down her spine and almost made her melt like jelly under the hot summer sun. Why did God give him that stupid, sexy voice that makes her feel as if she'd just ridden a roller coaster when he takes it down a notch like the way he was doing so right now?

"Let's get married." 

_Authoress:_ [Heartfire][1]

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	2. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 2

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Two  
By Heartfire **

~*~

Hilde's head whipped around to stare at him with her wide, midnight blue eyes. He was so close that his aftershave cologne hit her full force, but that wasn't what had sent her mind reeling in shock. "Wh- wha-" Hilde swallowed and tried again. "What did you say?"

Duo grinned as he let her go. So, he caught her attention. Good! He needed her to stay put while he proposes. "I said, let's get married."

He said it in such a carefree manner, with that cute shrug of his… The way he was looking at her… White laces, doves, white layered icing and the wedding march started playing in her still shocked mind-

"You know… that one place in Colony AR-074 that hit the news big time last year…? The one where you could get a marriage license good for only a month?"

The wedding march song died a terrible death as she realized her mistake. He wasn't talking about a real marriage. He was talking about a fake one!

Duo could almost see her decision before she said it with the way her eyes clouded. He could read her like a book and right now, he's on the 'not-so-very-happy- with-him' part.

"No." Hilde turned around before he could see the disappointment that had left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Aw, c'mon Hilde." Duo didn't give up. He knew that this was the only way. And he never gave up until he got what he wanted. His hand went over hers once again.

"No!" Hilde pulled away. It was obvious that he wouldn't let her out of her own office, but she needed to put a space between them or else he'd shape her into what he wanted her to be- putty in his hands, damn!

"Hilde, its-"

"N.O., Maxwell! What part of 'no' don't you understand?!" The initial bout of shock had finally turned to blazing anger- thank God! She has to keep her wits around her right now!

"Hilde, please. Let me explain." Duo followed her around as she walked hither thither. 

Hilde pressed her hands over her ears and started chanting her answer. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-" She gasped her last 'no' when Duo suddenly stopped and turned her around.

"Hilde, listen to me first, please." His hands were on her shoulders while he tried to figure out why she was acting so negatively. Usually, she had the passion for mischief that he has. Usually, she'd go along, why this all of a sudden?

Hilde shook her head. "I can't hear you. Nope! No…" She shook her head. Oh, she must look like a spoiled child at the moment with her hands on her ears and shaking her head like so, but she didn't care! She had almost- almost!- thought that he was really proposing to her… but that would only happen in her dreams.

Duo sighed deeply as he gently took hold of her wrists, and then smoothly, but firmly, brought them away from her ears. "Hilde, just listen, please?" His hands traveled to her hands and then he entwined them together. Once again, he couldn't believe their softness- what with the amount of work she does, or used to do.

Hilde closed her eyes and looked away. Tingling sensations rose from her hands to all over her body. 'Please no… no… not that look… God, just don't make him give me that look…' 

"Hilde, look at me." 

She shook her head. It was hard to talk when he was so near and knowing that he didn't feel the same… she just might blurt out something she had been keeping for the past ten years- and more.

'Why are you being so difficult?!' He was getting a bit annoyed at her antics. He reached for her small chin then turned her to his face. "Hilde, open your eyes and look at me."

'No! Schebeker don't you dare!' But with all the self-recriminations, she still opened her them and looked into his handsome face with his incredibly expressive violet eyes dominating his features. He didn't give her the 'look' but the serious one he was giving her still had that effect.

"This is just going to be like playing my girlfriend. Only this time around, the title will be 'wife'. It would only be legally binding for one month. No one but the needed people has to know." His hand traveled from under her chin, back to her hand, and squeezed them softly. "You're the only one I trust. You're the only one I'd propose this idea to."

The way his eyes searched her face… She bit down on her lower lip- hard- because she could almost feel herself say- 'yes'!

Duo saw that she couldn't be swayed- but she was near to it! And if he had to beg, beg he will do! He couldn't live another day running around with a pack of hungry women in his wake! "Please… please, Hilde." 

Her eyes went wide when he suddenly dropped to his knees and brought their hands together, as if praying, near his lips. Then, he looked up and gave her that 'look'! Oh God! That watery, big eyed look that could melt even the hardest metal!

"Please." He could already feel her changing answer and decided to play his last card. Why he was even trying this hard to make her say yes, he had no clue! His hands went around her legs as he pressed the side of his face against her stomach. "Pleeeaaase… Pleeeeaaase Hilde. I won't ask for anything else. I'll wear my shoes and be prompt at work. I'll cook and clean and… and… and clean my office."

He was playing her around- again. And she was letting him do it to her- again! He wouldn't do anything he promised but… She knew she had lost as she sighed and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Okay… Okay. Fine. I'll play along with it."

His shout of 'YES!' boomed in her ears and then her feet were suddenly lifted off the ground and she was being swung around in merry circles by a laughing Duo. It was such an exhilarating feeling! Her mind was still swirling when he placed her back on the ground. Then again, living with Duo had always been a whirlwind of events! She felt his hand under her chin and she looked up.

"You won't regret it." Okay… why did he even say that? It was unnecessary.

Hilde stopped a grimace. 'I already do.' She smiled instead. "Well… It might be fun."

"Yeah, nothing's gonna change. It'll be the same as always. We'll just have the title of husband and wife." Duo reached for her hand then started pulling her to the door.

"Where are we going?" Hilde stumbled after him.

"To get married." Duo answered promptly.

"B-but… meetings, conferences-" She was stalling… She knew she was stalling.

"I was reading our schedule before I was interrupted this morning. We don't have anything today." Duo smiled as he announced that they would be out the whole day to their secretary, and to hold the fort, the calls, and everything.

'Well… this is it, I guess…' Hilde looked around. 'Not exactly how I dreamt my proposal would be… not exactly how I dreamt my marriage was going to be… but this is it…'

****

…

Colony: AR-074

Duo nodded as the elderly woman behind the booth explained the contract that they were going to sign. To hell. He'd made, read, and signed contracts before. It wasn't as if he couldn't read! Right now, he was more nervous than a snake about to bite. "Where is she?"

He didn't know he muttered it out loud until the woman answered. "She just went to the bathroom to fix herself. That's how women are."

"No, Hilde never fixes herself. That's how she is." Duo answered as he turned to where Hilde had disappeared. "You sure there aren't any exits on that side?"

The woman nearly laughed. This couple sure was funny. "No. There aren't any, Mr. Maxwell."

"Well… okay…" Duo started to pace. His palms were sweaty and he was starting to feel a nervous set of searing heat. He looked around the place just for the heck of it. It was a nice enough place. Elegant but stiff… Too stiff with those bare, wooden walls, polished mahogany table… There wasn't even a single flower around- "I don't have a ring… She doesn't have a bouquet-" Duo started nervously. "Where's the nearest flower shop? What about a jewelry store?"

"Mr. Maxwell," The woman sighed. She could tell wedding jitters when she saw one. "This isn't a real wedding. She doesn't need a ring on her finger, or a bouquet, or flowers, or white lace. This is just a one month contract."

Duo stopped. "Oh… Yeah. I knew that." Hell! He did…! It's just that, it seemed so wrong. He'd always pictured Hilde in white, with a veil covering her face, rose petals swaying with the wind around her, and a bouquet of her favorite orchids in her hands… Duo quickly shook his head. 'Now where did that thought come from?' And why was it that he suddenly felt this smoldering sensation of jealousy when he imagined someone else's hands slowly pulling the veil from her face?

"Darnit, where is she?"

****

…

For the fifth time, Hilde splashed cold water on her face then looked at herself in the mirror. Why was it that alarm bells were ringing like a crazy fire alarm in her head? 

"This isn't a real wedding… This isn't a real wedding… Don't get sentimental… Pull yourself together. Get out there, and sign that contract." She breathed in deeply as she patted her face dry. Then, she looked at herself on the mirror and felt like crying. She looked shabby. Not at all the image of a fitting bride. Her plain black trousers and plain- almost manly– cotton blouse hid more than she knew… No make up and her hair was a mess…

Her nerves were all frayed. "Why?! Why did _I_ have to be the one to fall in love with him?!" Her eyes glistened once again and she looked up at the ceiling to stop them from falling. She couldn't go on living like this… After this month, she'll resign and get the hell out of his way… Maybe she might even fall in love with another guy. But right now-

"Time to get married, Hilde…" With one last look at her woeful image on the mirror, she turned, and walked to the man of her dreams to get a fake marriage.

****

…

A relieved feeling swept through Duo when he saw her. He walked to her and grabbed one of her hands as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear on him. "Thought you'd never come out of there."

"Well, I'm out." Hilde nodded to the secretary.

"Are you nervous?" Duo asked, his voice almost wavering.

'Yes.' She shook her head. "Why should I be? This isn't real."

Duo nodded. "Yeah… it isn't." But he sure was nervous. His palms were sweating more than ever but not her… cool, calm, and collected, as always. That's why she would be great for him. She was always the one who had been keeping him in check. 'Whoa! Maxwell! Careful with that thought!' He shook his head as they sat in front of the desk. 

"I just need both of you to sign a set of papers. One would be for the name change, the other for the government, and the other for your one-month marriage license. If anything happens during and after this marriage, it would have to be settled like a divorce case. Understood?" She didn't think she had to explain the contracts anymore, especially since she already went through the whole ordeal with the guy.

Hilde and Duo nodded.

"Okay… Let's get this over with and go home." Duo grabbed the pen in his coat with one hand and the papers with the other while Hilde took out her own pen and got ready to sign. She watched as Duo signed papers after papers, gave her the set and then she signed it herself. She didn't feel anything different after the last contract, so she just handed the papers back to the secretary. 

"You will get your license in the mail within this month, and a couple of souvenirs. Other than that, have a good month."

"Of course." Hilde stood up, happy that the act was finally over while Duo couldn't help but feel as if he had missed something.

"We have to get back here before the month is over to make sure that everything is in order, right?"

"Yes. I already explained that to you."

Duo nodded. "Okay. Thanks." He turned to Hilde and a tumbling, nervous sensation erupted at the pit of his stomach. "Let's go?"

Hilde nodded. "Back home." 

He opened the door for her then they started walking as if they were strangers. They didn't even notice the secretary's raised eyebrow as she stared from the contract to the couple outside. Didn't hear her mumble - 'I guess they changed their minds.'

Something was missing… Just something… Duo kept glancing back at Hilde as he tried to get a grasp at that something.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She tried a joke. Never in their entire life had there been stilted air between them and it just had to start now.

"No… Your face is fine, as always." Then he stopped as he stared at the store just across the street, right behind her. The word 'Jewelry' just seemed so right that he knew he had to get Hilde a ring. A ring to signify that they were married. That she was his. 'Whoa! Maxwell, there you go again!' He shook his head.

"Are you alright?" Hilde frowned as Duo shook his head as he grimaced.

"Yeah… just fine. Let's go get you a ring." He reached for her hand and felt a belonging sensation race through his veins. He stared at it. Entwined. It was a perfect fit for each other. Ringless… but not for long.

Before Hilde could protest, she was being tugged to the pedestrian lane and then they were running off to the direction Duo wanted to go to.

He didn't glance at the display cases and went straight to the clerk behind the counter. The man promptly looked at them and nodded when they reached him.

"Good afternoon, sir." 

"Afternoon. I want a ring."

Hilde frowned at Duo's blatant, forward request.

The nearly balding man nodded. "Of course. You didn't look at our displays-"

"No. I want something…" He tried to find the right words for it. "Something exquisite… one of a kind." He was still holding her hand and he didn't want to let go anytime soon.

A smile appeared on the man's face. "Ah… the unique ring. Who is it for? Your mother, your sister, a mother in law-"

"No! I want it for my wife." The moment he said that word, he pulled Hilde forward and let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist. "This is my wife and I want to get her a ring." Man! It felt good to say that! Almost… too good…

"Duo! Stop it. Honestly!" She tried to get away but his hand was securely clamped around her waist. He was taking things far too seriously that it seemed as if everything was real but it wasn't! "We're not even really married."

Duo whipped his head to hers. That announcement made him see a dim light of reason through the giddy haze he suddenly found himself in. But that dim light was gone almost too instantly. "We are married."

"For a month. Now stop being a domineering husband." Hilde tried to wriggle out of his embrace but he didn't let go. Instead, she stopped when she felt the back of his hand on her cheek.

"Hilde… indulge me okay? I just want to buy you a ring… I don't know why, but… just indulge me." 

She shouldn't have looked up, but she did and the way he was looking down at her, so near to her face that if she tiptoed up their lips would meet… She bit her inner lip and lived on the pain. "Fine… alright. Darn it, why can't I say no to you?" She sighed her frustration and punched him lightly on his arm.

Duo grinned. He liked what she had just said. "You say no. I just don't listen."

"Well, if I'm going to have to wear a ring, you should, too." Hilde pouted and crossed her hands over her chest. This was one argument she was not going to back away from. If she has to do it, he does too!

Now that's an idea. "Okay." He faced the clerk and didn't see Hilde's surprised look. "Well, sir, we want wedding rings. Exquisite, unique wedding rings."

"Y-you really shouldn't have to… this will be over in a month." Hilde tried to keep her head from floating off her shoulders at this touching moment.

Duo looked at her once again then shook his head, his eyes serious and calm as a lake at sunset on a clear weather. "I want to."

They stayed that way, staring at each other with Duo's hand around her waist until the clerk came back.

"Here we are. This is the only ring with this design made by Krouckants. He's an exclusive designer, the best of everyone."

Hilde and Duo looked at the closed box expectantly until the man opened it… Their breaths caught in their throat… It was clear why the designer was the best… The rings were beautiful! Elegant wasn't even the word for it! The rings were a whole when placed together. It was designed like two doves with their heads curved around each other in the middle and their wings almost in perfect circle around the heads, so clearly defined. The woman's ring was thinner than the man's but it just added to its beauty. And buds of roses in soft rose gold were etched just around the thinner gold band's dove.

Duo slowly reached for one ring with one hand and with his other, brought Hilde's hand up. He stared from her hand then to her face and the distinct happy and just perfect feeling swept through him as he tried the ring on her finger. 

It fit like a glove. She was having the hardest time trying not to cry as she reached for the other ring and memorably placed it on his finger. It fit on him, too… It was as if the rings were meant for them…

His hands entwined themselves with hers then he brought them up to his lips to brush a kiss on her knuckles while his eyes remained on her face, staring straight into her eyes. He loved the way her eyes sparkles, the way it does now. "Hello, Mrs. Maxwell…"

A lump caught at her throat and try as she might to make herself remember that this was all going to be over in a month, she couldn't help but feel sentimental at that moment. "Hello… Mr. Maxwell."


	3. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 3

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Three  
By Heartfire **

~*~

Whoever said that happiness never last was so right. The moment they got back, they saw their secretary, frantically trying to keep a bunch of engineers from entering their offices and talking over the phone at the same time. 

"Mr. Maxwell! Ms. Schebecker! Thank God you're back! There's a problem at the GC- 651 colony and these engineers are from the GC- 545 colony."

Without looking at each other, Hilde and Duo went to work.

"I'll take the engineers." Hilde whispered as she took the messages from their secretary.

"I'll take care of the plant."

He watched as Hilde calmly led the men into their conference room and then faced his secretary, a bit angered that their day was so unduly interrupted. "Save me a flight for GC- 651."

"Yes sir."

He glanced back at her closed door and couldn't stop the feeling of admiration that she could easily straighten problems with people in a snap. 

"Flight reserved, sir. Airport No. 34 in about an hour."

Duo nodded. "Okay. I'm going."

That was the last they saw each other until two days later… well… Three, actually… Hilde wasn't sure whether to feel thankful that he left so she could get a hold on her feelings once again or to be angry that he had to go away so soon… Just when everything was turning out… Ah heck… whatever.

She slapped the wad of papers on her desk and smiled at the good, sharp sound. He came in just before dawn so she wasn't expecting until well after lunch. He didn't even knock on her door to tell her that he got home! The fact that he probably thought she was sleeping didn't penetrate her mind as she gritted her teeth together and she shook her head. 

"Okay Schebecker, you're acting like a wife." She breathed in and out and finally got her nerves calmed.

Outside, Duo stopped in front of Therese. "Hey, she's in, right?"

Therese nodded. "Yes sir."

"Thanks." He walked to Hilde's door and breathed in deeply. He was nervous- again! He shouldn't be. Those two days away from her made him realize that he became a sappy romantic and he shouldn't do that to her. She didn't deserve to be played. Besides, he does not feel anything physical for her. The only reason why he asked her to marry him was so he could get those girls off his back, right? Nothing more, right?

He entered her office and found her immersed in the usual thick papers on her neat desk- 'Oh yeah… clean my desk later…' The note was safely tucked at the back of his head just as Hilde looked up and met his eyes.

His heart did a good, hard kick and he had to blink a couple of times to get himself back in action. 

"Oh… I didn't know that you were back." Play it safe… She didn't want to tell him that she'd been awake these past few days, worrying herself to insanity all because the stupid person in front of her never called! Dimwit.

"I came around five…" Why did she have to look so cute when strands of hair fall over her eyes like that? "Uh… I was wondering if its okay for us to go get something to eat at Fritz's." 

Hilde frowned. He never asked her to do that before- except during…

"You know… so we could start murdering some hoping girl's feelings." He thought he said that in a funny way but… guessed not as Hilde glared at him.

'Murdering some hoping girl's feelings, was it? Well… she was one of those girls. Damn him.' She stood up and started for him. "Fine. Let's start with this sorry business then."

Duo frowned. Was it him or… did it suddenly become too cold for comfort just now?

"The usual game?" Usual game meaning: Duo will put his arm around her shoulder and introduce her to whoever passes by as his girlfriend.

Duo could only nod as he followed her. Why was it that she's so… frosty today? 'I just hope that she'd be better afterwards.'

Minutes later, they were given their usual table, eating their ordered food. Hilde was beginning to smolder. Lunch had gone off without a hitch. No blondes, no redheads or even green heads that showed up-

"Hi Duo, darling."

'Spoke too soon.' Hilde's nerves went to a very taut line as she caught the 'Oh no! Not her!' look on Duo and at the same time, the look that said- 'It's time.'

"I didn't know that you were going to eat here today." 

The buxom woman leaned forward on the table, showing off more flesh than Hilde had ever shown in public her whole life! The obvious gulp Duo took was enough to tell her to begin the play. Hilde cleared her throat.

"Excuse me if I'm intruding… should I leave the two of you alone?"

The woman turned to give her a cursory glance while Duo gave her the 'What the heck are you doing?!' look. Hilde just sweetly smiled at him as a reply.

"Oh my! Who do we have here?"

Hilde rolled her eyes. 'Not another one!!!'

"Where have you been hiding Duo-hun?" 

'Another one…' Hilde's hands fisted as she watched that blonde play with her Duo's hair. If she didn't know Duo, she'd have thought he was enjoying it. But you could see the telltale goose bumps on his arms, and the way he turned a shade paler… 'Well let him rot. He was the one who got himself in this situation.' She crossed her arms over her chest and decided to start the play before those women get their hands where it shouldn't be. "_Sweetheart_, who are these… _girls_?"

The two turned to glare at her and Duo took that chance to move away from them and nearer to Hilde. "Uhm… Abigail, Tania… I… I want you to meet uh, my… uh… wife." He finally said it. 'That wasn't so bad.' Actually, that nice feeling came over him again.

"Wife?" Both of them parroted as they stared from Duo to Hilde as if this was all a joke.

Hilde reached out and grabbed Duo's hand then brought it over the table, hands entwined, ring finger against ring finger. "Yes. Wife." The murderous glare she gave them wasn't even planned.

"Definitely wife." Duo added as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer. Her wonderful shampoo hit him full force and he decided right there and then to kiss her—just to make it more believable. He tilted Hilde's chin, leaned down, and their lips touched.

Hilde's eyes widened. Never in the entire time they've been together had they ever kissed. She had only dreamed of it and now- her eyes fluttered close and she became boneless in his arms.

He took her mouth slowly, wanting to savor every taste and texture- or was it so that the girls would just leave them alone? He could taste the sweet chocolate and strawberry dessert she was ate only a few minutes ago and he wanted more. Her lips parted and he slipped his tongue between them. He took his time. Why hadn't he kissed her before when she was this delicious? He shifted angles and drew the kiss deeper. 

She couldn't think. Her body was doing all the thinking for her and God! How she wanted him… How she ached for him. His tongue touched the top of her lower lip once more, and then slowly, he drew away.

It cost him to do that because he hadn't wanted to end the kiss but the fact of the matter was… he was starting to think of stripping Hilde bare and laying her flat on the table to- Duo quickly shook his head to rid him of the images he created. He shouldn't think like that! This is Hilde. His pal! His best friend. His housemate. His partner. His… wife… He could see stars in her eyes or maybe it was just him, and just to get them talking once again, he looked around and noted that the girls had left. "They're gone." A sigh of relief left his lips. "Thank God!"

Hilde's spinning world halted at those words. Anger sparked. He used her. He used her in the lowest possible way! She was so mad that she could… she could- 

Duo suddenly felt a blow on his jaw that made him stagger to the other side of the half circle seat. His hand grabbed his aching jaw. "Ow! Hilde! What was that for?!" He started to rotate his jaw just to make sure it wasn't misaligned while he glared at her. He saw that she was angry as a pitbull!

"That was not part of our agreement! No physical contact except for short hugs and half embraces!" Hilde grabbed her bag and started to slide off to the other side. She had to get out of there before she starts to bawl!

"Aw heck Hilde. It wasn't as if I wanted to kiss you."

Hilde turned to stare at him with wide eyes. It was enough to know that she wasn't one of his types but to hear him say that after all she did for him?!

Duo's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "No! I mean-"

"I don't care what you mean!!!" Hilde stood up and couldn't stop herself as she pushed Duo's dessert over his lap and then stalked off the restaurant, uncaring of the stares people sent them.

"Hilde! Wait!" Duo stood up. The piece of cake fell down his pants and onto the floor, the white icing right on top where his manhood would be and he quickly placed a napkin over it. He looked around and saw customers staring at him and he bit his lip. "I… er… uh…" What could he say?! What could he say?! "We're going through a divorce." He smiled his apologetic smile and it seemed as if everyone understood as they nodded and went back to eating their food and minding their own business. 

Duo sat back down as he motioned for the waiter. He didn't mean what he said to her. What he wanted to say was that he needed to kiss her and later on he wanted to kiss her then he didn't want to kiss her because she was supposed to be his friend then- "Aw hell! Maxwell. Shut up. Big mess your big mouth got yourself into."


	4. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 4

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Four  
By Heartfire **

~*~

"It's not as if I wanted to, he said." Hilde kicked her desk again. She had stomped into her office without even giving a glance to her workers, locked her door, and then started massacring the inanimate objects all over her floor. "Stupid idiot." She heard a cracking sound when she kicked her desk for the tenth time. "You'd have thought that after going out with so many women, he developed some sort of sensitivity to our feelings! But no! He's so self centered and lazy… The brat just-" Her anger climaxed yet again and the desk was given no mercy with one more satisfying kick. She could have murdered that braided moron!

With a deep sigh, she deposited her suddenly tired body into her hand picked chair and was about to go to work when her private phone line rang. The scowl was still set on her face when she turned on the monitor, only to look into Relena's smiling face.

"Hilde! I've got great news- What's wrong? What happened?"

It was nice to see her friend go from a happy to a concerned look. So nice in fact that her scowl disappeared. Who would have thought that she- Hilde Schebeker- would be such good friend with Relena Dorlian? Her head shook. "Nothing. I'm just being moody."

Relena's eyes showed her disbelief. "Come on. Tell me what's wrong. You and Duo fought again, didn't you?" Really. Those two are like married couples!!!

Her small body slumped in her chair. "No. I just punched him."

Relena blinked a couple of times just to be sure that this was Hilde she was talking to. "Did I hear that correctly? Did you just say that you punched him?" What could Duo have done to provoke such anger from Hilde?! 

"Yes. You heard me." A deep sigh left Hilde as she placed her elbows on the desk and cupped her chin. "He kissed me and I punched him. That's just the story of my life."

"But Hilde!" Relena smiled widely at the announcement. She shouldn't scream in excitement, or else… "That's wonderful! I mean, how many times have you told me that you wanted him to kiss you?" Suddenly, a frown appeared on her face. "Unless… if you… if you didn't like it… I mean… if there wasn't… uhm… fireworks…"

Hilde's face dropped onto the desk. "Ungh! That's the problem! Fireworks were nothing compared to what happened!" She was talking to her desk. She couldn't look at her friend at the moment.

"Another wonderful thing. So, what's wrong?"

She wanted to cry and laugh at the whole silly situation! She was so frustrated that things just started to spill. "What's wrong is I married him and he's just using me and-"

"What the heck did you just say?!" 

The door that connected Hilde's office to the conference room opened with a slam, and Hilde's head snapped up. Her eyes widened as she saw Relena, standing in the doorway with her jaw- hanging.

"Relena…?! What-" Hilde stood up from her desk in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I was supposed to surprise you but you have just turned the table around- twice!" She started walking to her midnight blue haired friend the moment she got her bearings back. 

"When did you get here? Why are you here?" Embarrassment had flooded her and she just couldn't look at Relena that moment.

Relena stopped as she reached Hilde's desk. "There was an emergency meeting. I came this morning and we just finished. Now, don't you dare question me until I finish questioning you, and you had better answer." 

Her voice left no room for argument and Hilde could only nod. Actually… now that she thought about it, she does need someone to talk to. "Fine. Shoot me. My world is over anyway."

"Okay. Good." Relena looked down at Hilde's finger and saw the ring. Excitement bubbled in her as she grabbed Hilde's hand, stared at it then looked into Hilde's face. "You really are married!!! How did he propose? Why didn't you call?! I thought I was going to be your bridesmaid! You-"

Hilde clamped her hand on Relena's mouth before any more questions could be asked. "First and foremost, Duo and I…" Hilde breathed in deeply as she tried to harden her aching heart. "We aren't really married."

Relena's right eyebrow shot up. Hilde let her hand drop to her side and sadly shrugged her shoulder.

"How about if we," Relena hooked her hand around Hilde's arm, "… go out and get a cup of tea. Then you can tell me everything."

A small smile appeared on Hilde's lips. "Without Wufei?"

Relena solemnly crossed a finger over her heart. "Without Wufei. He'll be staying a couple of tables away, so you will be safe."

Hilde dropped her head on Relena's shoulder. "Thanks. I'm glad you decided to pass by."

Relena nodded. 'So am I… So am I…'

****

…

"Hilde!" The front door opened and closed with a loud bang. "HIIIIIILLLLDDDDDEEEE!" The demanding bellow echoed inside the house as Duo walked from the living room, to the kitchen, and finally, to Hilde's room. He was steaming mad. First, she ditched him in the restaurant after that humiliating ordeal, then, when he finally came back to the office, she wasn't there- and she never came back! "HILDE!" Duo pushed the door open and found- 

No one. The house was empty.

"Dammit!" He glanced at his watch. Nine o'clock. "Where the hell is she?!" He had to kill overtime because she left her work unfinished. Not that he minded. He wouldn't have cared if she left half her share of work to him! He would have done it! It wasn't as if he was blind to the fact that she had saved him countless of times before. The fact that was bothering him was-

"Where is she?!" It was troubling him! He's worried about her! Their secretary didn't even tell him whom Hilde went out with! Just smiled that stupid, silly smile! Duo stomped out of Hilde's room and into their living room then stopped in his tracks. The living room table was overflowing with shopping bags!

"What the…" An indecipherable frown appeared on Duo's face as he stared at the uncommon sight. Hilde does not shop. She does not shop! Why was there- "… five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven- TWELVE!" Twelve bags on the table and- "Five boxes?!"

Not that he was stingy. He doesn't care what she does with whomever's money but- "Hilde… shopping?! That's like…" Duo fell into the couch in complete amazement. "Trying to make Heero say he loves Relena!"

He stared at the bags and boxes, completely overwhelmed. "What did she do? Buy the whole store?" A black box on the very top caught his attention. It was sprinkled with gold and silver stars and… well… his curiosity gnawed at him and he couldn't help but wonder… _what_ she bought.

"Well… maybe it doesn't hurt to…" He reached for the box then stopped an inch away. "… to see… right?" Duo's lips pursed. His straight, white teeth bit down on his lower lip then a slow smile appeared as his hand pushed the box off the table. 

"Oooops!" Duo leaned down and grinned triumphantly when he saw the white tissues spill out of the half opened box. "Hilde, your box fell…" Duo Maxwell never lies. That evil laugh was already ringing in his ears as he dropped on the floor and started reaching for the things. "I am just going to put these…" 

His power of speech eluded him as his hands brought what was inside the box in front of his face. His throat had suddenly grown dry and he swallowed- hard. There was a good hard kick way, waaay, waaaay below his stomach and, did it suddenly become hot in here? 

__

It was hanging by his thumbs- a white… silk… lacy… completely see through… lingerie… And the bad thing was…

Duo gulped once again and sweat poured down his forehead.

He could see Hilde wearing it… walking towards him in that graceful, seductive walk that only women could do… and-

Their front door's lock clicked and Duo scrambled to get the… the… the _thing_ inside its box and back on the table just in time! Their door opened slightly then stopped.

Duo stood by the table and waited.

"You're too silly!"

Duo's upper left lip turned up and his eyebrows met. That voice sounded like Hilde's but… the tone was unlike Hilde's… It was too… flirtatious!

"No. I'm just being honest. You are beautiful tonight, Hilde."

That low, voice, fit for a radio host, reached Duo's ears and he felt an indescribable anger flow through him. He cracked his knuckles then left both hands in fists.

"Thanks. Really. Alright… uhm… Good night… Thanks for taking us out."

"It was my pleasure. I wouldn't have missed it."

'It was my pleasure… I wouldn't have missed it.' Duo silently mimicked the guy outside as he pushed his sleeves up his arm. He couldn't stop himself as he walked to the door and opened it only to see Hilde waving goodbye to a slowly moving limousine.

Wait- Hilde?

Duo's eyes widened as his eyes moved from Hilde's gelled hair, down to her tight, sleeveless royal blue top, down her slender back and flowing miniskirt, then legs… legs… bare legs… high heels and slowly back up. He was… shocked! This… She- she could not be Hilde!

She turned around and gasped as she stared into Duo's brooding face. "Duo! Why didn't you say that you were back there?!" Her hand went up to her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

He was hit on the blind side once again. She was wearing make up! Her midnight blue eyes looked smoky and seductive with that dark whatchamacallit around her eyes, her long eyelashes looked longer and her beautiful lips looked more inviting than before.

Hilde shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with the way Duo was looking at her. "What? What is it?"

Her voice brought him back to reality and Duo realized that gnawing want for his pal. 'Dammit! What is wrong with me?!' Angry with himself for such wayward desire, he started to snap at her. "Where the hell have you been?! You left work early, there were no messages- Hell! It's-" Duo checked his watch. "It's 9:30, for Pete's sake!!! You could have called me! Dammit! I was worried about you!"

A slight feeling of satisfaction went through Hilde at what he just said. He was worried about her… 'Humph! Now you know how I feel whenever you're out until midnight.' But that feeling of satisfaction was overridden by anger at his tone of voice. "What?! You mean to tell me that you're the only one who can have some fun?!" Hilde brushed by Duo and entered their house.

"Fun?! Fun?!" Duo parroted from behind as he followed Hilde and slammed the door shut. "You can have fun whenever you want to but do it after office hours!"

Hilde threw a look over her shoulder as she grabbed her packages. "And you don't?" Sure, he said his thank you's afterwards, when he noticed that she had done his share of work, but heck! The hypocrite!

"Who was that guy you were out with?!" Duo demanded as he slammed his hand on their couch, anger like no other coursed through his veins as he remembered what he had overheard.

"He's just a friend." With a huff, Hilde took all her parcels then started walking to her room.

"A friend?!" Duo followed her once again. "Did he kiss you?!" Dammit! Why did that even matter?

"Duo, I don't kiss and tell." A grunt escaped her lips as she opened her door.

"Well you better start telling!" He stopped just outside her room, ready to stay there until she fesses up.

Hilde's patience broke. She dropped her stuff carelessly onto the floor then sharply turned to face him. "Whatever it was that I did today, it's none of your business!" Why was he acting like this anyway?

"It is, too!" Duo glowered at her, his eyes trying to figure out if her lips were kissed.

"Give me one good reason why!" Hilde met his glare, her hands on her hips in that defensive manner.

Her question stumped him. For a moment, his anger cleared but there was that feeling of hate for that guy that still gnawed at him. "Because…" 

Hilde shifted her weight. "Because…?" Sarcasm outlined her mimicked word and she knew she had poured a new can of gasoline onto Duo's fire as she saw his eyes darken.

"Because you're my wife, dammit!" That wasn't exactly the answer he had hoped to say, but it still came out for reasons unknown to him.

Hilde's right eyebrow shot up. "Oh yes… I'm the wife for a month…" She could tell that Duo was just as surprised with his own answer as she. She could tell he was embarrassed but heck! She's still mad at him. "In case you've forgotten, you idiot, this is a fake marriage!" Her last word was said in a barely controlled scream.

They glared at each other on the threshold of her room. He really didn't know what came over him. Alright, so he was a bit angry that she left without telling him, then again, he's done that to her before, also… And why did he get angry with that guy? Hilde's allowed to date, anyway… He just wanted to – A sigh escaped his lips.

"Okay… okay…" His right hand raked through his bangs, clutched it then let go. 

Hilde breathed in deeply. It had been too long since they had fought like this… When was that last time-

"The last time we fought like this, it was over a stupid toaster." Duo muttered, finally able to reign in his anger and truly felt embarrassed with his earlier actions.

Hilde almost smiled. Oh yes, the toaster. Who broke it… "I still say that that was your fault."

Duo's jaw fell but he quickly closed it. "We're not going to get into another argument." He breathed in deeply for control then stared into Hilde's beautiful midnight blue eyes. "I went into your office to apologize this afternoon but you weren't there."

Hilde just nodded. She does feel kinda guilty that she left work just like that- Waitaminute, did he just say he was going to apologize?

"By the way, I finished the proposal for Reese Incorporated." Well… he finished it because he was so angry he needed to work off some steam.

"Oh…" Hilde looked away. Reese was her project and he started it up for her…? "Thanks."

"You would have done the same thing for me." Duo whispered as he reached out and gently touched her chin to make her look at him again. Their eyes met and they saw… wariness. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole at the restaurant, Hilde." He wasn't going to say anything about liking her taste, or how he would like to taste her lips again right now 'coz if he did, hell would break loose.

She could tell that he meant it and when he means what he says, she found it hard to not bend. "I wouldn't say that you weren't an ass… but… since you apologized, then… fine."

"Fine as in, I forgive you?" Duo asked hopefully. Why does it matter so much that she forgives him?

"Fine as in, 'forget it'." Hilde muttered with her lips pursed. 

"Well…" Duo sighed. "That's near enough, I guess…" He let his hands drop to his sides then stared at Hilde some more. She had definitely changed, though he can't quite put his finger on it… But what's important right now was… he knew if he left without easing the burden between them, something bad would happen… A smile… If he could only make her smile, or laugh, everything would be fine again… "Hey angel," 

Hilde forced herself to stay emotionless after he used his pet name for her.

"You think you could give me a smile over there?" He brushed his knuckles lightly against her chin. They did this game before. It always worked- before.

"No, I don't think so. I don't feel like smiling right now." She remained impassive, or tried to, anyway. At that moment, she was trying to think of why in the world she chose to fall in love with this person.

"Aw, c'mon. I do not take no for an answer and you know that. Either you give me a smile right now or I'll resort to cheating."

'Cheating…?' When she remained indifferent, a twinkle in Duo's eyes made her frown. 'What's he gonna-' Her train of thought stopped when Duo's lightning quick hands suddenly started to tickle her ribs.

Uncontrollable laughter echoed inside the house.

"No! This isn't fair!" Hilde gasped as she pushed herself away from him. With her hands around her stomach, she ran to her bed. Hastily, she grabbed hold of one of her pillows and used it as a shield. "I'm warning you, Maxwell! You take one step and you'll be sorry!" Her threat was hallow with happiness and laughter.

Duo grinned and impishly took that one step, then ran to her bed and grabbed her other pillow. "PILLOW FIGHT!"

The grin on Hilde's face reached ear to ear. "Alright! You asked for it!" With a battle cry, she landed her pillow over his head with a satisfying blow. 

They played like children, ran around after each other, teased and yelled. Duo made it a point to let her hit him as often as she liked. He could tell that she was really frustrated with him and he achieved two things with that pillow fight: got their friendship back; and let her frustration be satisfied, yet at the same time, have fun himself!

The two collapsed on Hilde's bed, bent over their stomach, and laughed uncontrollably. 

"Man! That was fun!" Duo turned over to his side to face Hilde and she did the same thing with her head propped on her hand. "Wanna do it again?"

Hilde shook her head with a grin. "Nah… not tonight. I'm tired as it is."

"Okay." They stared at each other with that silly smile on their faces, as comfortable as they were like before.

"So, tell me. Why is it that when women gets frustrated, they shop?"

Hilde grinned. "Not always. I just tried it this way today just to see if it really helped and it kinda did."

Duo shook his head because he couldn't think of anything to say. 

"By the way…" Hilde started to blush as she shyly looked from her packages on the floor to Duo.

Duo frowned. "What?"

"Er… I placed those under your name." Hilde whispered without looking at him, a bit embarrassed with what she had done. Honestly, she just wanted to make him feel angry and pick a fight.

Duo looked from the packages to Hilde. He took in her elegant dress, the skirt, that, at the moment, was hiked up her wonderfully toned, beautiful legs, enough that he could see a portion of a black, ruffly garter. She looked, and he knew that she didn't know, innocent and seductive at the same time. Should he be angry at what she did? It was nothing compared to what he had done that afternoon.

"Well… are you angry? I'll pay you back." 

Her hushed tone made him realize that he hasn't spoken. Like before, he chucked her chin lightly with his knuckles and she looked up at him. "Don't pay me back… If it's any consolation," He let his eyes glance from her face down to her black, see through stockinged feet, then back up again. "I think it was worth it. I never knew you had those legs under that skirt."

"Yeah. Or else you wouldn't have taken me seriously and rushed at me like you did some of your girls, huh?" Hilde made the comment into a joke even if it was one of her secret pains.

"Hmmm… Probably." Duo tilted his head and his eyes seemed to be pulled to that portion of Hilde's leg where he could see the black garter. "Although, I'd advice you not to wear that sexy looking garter."

Hilde instantly glanced down and saw that the hem of her skirt was a bit too high for her liking. She quickly pulled it down with one hand and didn't even notice that Duo had given her an offhanded compliment. "Oh you-" Her other hand grabbed a pillow.

The next thing Duo knew, he was pushed to his back with a pillow on his face.

"You could have told me!"

'And miss the show?' Duo took the pillow off his face and revealed his grin. "Well, I'm a man. I appreciate beauty." The moment those words left his lips, he blinked in confusion… 'Hell…?!' Was he flirting with Hilde…?

"Oooooh!" Her frustrated growl belied the twinkle in her expressive eyes. "Get out of my room right now. You've made enough mess."

Duo stood up, humped his body and started bowing consecutively as he imitated those monster movies' butlers. "Yes, oh master." 

Hilde laughed, as she led Duo to her door and side stepped her packages. "Go, Igor!"

Duo answered in that same, hoarse, funny way. "Yes, oh Master." But the moment he stepped into the hallway, he straightened his back and faced her. "Are you going to be alright now?"

Hilde leaned against her door and nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Just fine, Doc."

"Okay." He stared at her and felt the urge to grab her around the waist and give her a mind numbing good night kiss… She looked ruffled. Her cheeks were red from laughter, a twinkle in her eyes, and a killer dress… He just couldn't stop the words that left his mouth. "That damn guy was correct, though… You do look beautiful tonight… but…" He tried to stop the words but he couldn't. "You always had been beautiful to me." The moment those words left him he knew it was true.

Hilde blushed and thanked the stars that she was already leaning against her door or else she would have landed flat on her face. That was the first real compliment Duo had given her- the first about her looks. Usually, it was: 'you're so good'; 'you're so organized'; 'it's wonderful that you…' 

The soft, touched smile that played on her lips was a thank you for him already. "Alright. Go to sleep." Duo turned and walked only a few steps from her door to open his own. 

"Duo…"

He turned at her voice and the funny thing was, he half expected her to rush over to his side and kiss him!

"Good night."

Duo nodded like an automaton, shocked at what he had just imagined. "Good night, Hilde." He watched her close her door then he did the same as he shook his head in confusion.

"Damn! I need to get my head examined." He quickly walked to his bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. "What is wrong with you?" He slapped his face twice. "Alright. Cross psychoanalysis for Duo Maxwell. You are thinking of bedding your nearly ten years buddy, housemate, and business partner. What does that tell you about yourself?" He took off his shirt and showed his well-toned muscles.

"I'm an asshole." He shook his head. "Think, Maxwell… One logical reason… That's all you need…" 

He stripped himself naked then walked into the shower. From the other side of the room, he could already hear the pounding water from Hilde's shower, as if calling to him like a siren…

"DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! Not again!" He twisted the cold-water lever and let his body cool off.

Okay… what did he learn about Hilde today, aside from the fact that her lips were as sweet as the finest quality of chocolate, aside from the fact that she's got great legs and aside from the fact that he never knew she bought, owned, and wore lacy garments?

His hands pulled at his long hair, free from its braid to experience pain. He needed to get his mind off her like that!

"Okay, I got one…" He started soaping himself. "Maybe this is just the after effect of getting married. Then again, we're not really married, it's just that I am starting to think of her like a husband to a wife because…. Because it's just natural! That's it!" A smile lighted his face and his body finally felt the ice-cold water. "Natural!" 

His smile disappeared when one more waylaid image of Hilde in that lingerie entered his mind. "Man! She'll kill me if she ever found out! She'll murder me and pulverize me and then kill me again…"

From the other side of the house, no such thoughts were in her mind. Instead, she let Duo's compliment echo again and again like the warm shower that flowed over her body. It was a wonderful feeling to know that he cherished their friendship enough to let her hit him that many times. 

Oh, she knew what he did, and she was touched to the core… then his compliment… It was a nice ending to such a long, and a bit frustrating, day.


	5. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 5

- Chimera of Life - **

- chimera of life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Five  
By Heartfire **

~*~

"Yo! Maxwell here." Duo greeted whoever just called him on his private line while he rifled through his papers.

"Er… Yo. Dorlian here."

Relena's teasing voice made him drop his papers and turn to the compact vid-o-phone. "Hey! My favorite ambassador of peace. What could I do for you today?"

Relena grinned. "Well, for starters, I want to see you. Today is my last day on your colony, so I was wondering if I could possibly pass by?"

"Hey, whoa! Time out and back track a bit." Duo motioned with his hands while his face drew near to the monitor. "You tellin' me that you're here?"

Relena nodded, happy that she was able to surprise him. "Yes. Since yesterday, in fact."

"Holy-! And no one knew?!" A whistle left him when he saw her nod. "Well, I must say that Wufei is definitely improving."

Relena laughed at that comment. "Well anyway, I was wondering if half past twelve is alright? My flight is at three."

"Fine with me, gorgeous. You know that I'll always make any adjustments just for you." Duo gave her his drop-dead smile.

"Save your flirtations on your women, Duo… or better yet… Hilde." Her sharp eyes took in his surprised look before he was able to hide it. 'Hmmm… Improvement…'

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout? I don't flirt with Hilde." 

He tried to school his face to show indifference but Relena saw right through it. "Fine. Did you wake up early enough to go to work with Hilde, or did you have to walk by yourself again?"

Hilde's image, clad in sky blue two piece- skirt instead of trousers- business attire, entered his mind and he could already feel himself drool. Oh he woke up early this morning all right… For reasons unknown to him, it seemed as if his circadian clock was working again. He even surprised Hilde when he knocked on her door to wake_ her _up, instead of the other way around! He was even able to make breakfast, for Pete's sake! And then when she walked into the kitchen, he nearly dropped the plateful of bacon…!

"I think I got the answer to that question." She gave a quick chuckle. Duo's expression was exactly what she had wanted to see. "How did you like the dresses we bought?" 

Duo shook his head as those words seeped in his numb mind. "Er… huh? You were with Hilde?

"Yes. She was pretty… upset with you yesterday and I was free." Relena was having a hard time trying not to laugh. Poor Duo!

If Relena was with Hilde… then- "Hey! Do you know who took her out last-"

"Duo, I'm sorry. I have to go." She knew exactly what he was going to ask her, but she's going to let him suffer a little while longer, and it looked like he just bit the bait. "Talk to you later now. Bye."

His monitor turned black and he nearly broke his pencil in frustration. He almost- almost!- got the information! Ah well…

Duo slumped into his chair then eyed his door. Slowly, his frustrations disappeared as he remembered those good ol' days with his other friends… Nowadays, he could only keep in touch with Quatre, and Wufei. Heero, he could never find and Trowa was always on the go. 

His mischievous streak started to come out. "Where there's Relena… there's Wufei… And I'm due for a prank…" All work no play makes Duo a dull boy, after all…

"I think I'm craving for…" A slow smile appeared on his lips. "Ice cream…"

****

…

"Wufei, you're going to behave yourself, right?" Relena reminded her bodyguard. Of course, she knew that he wouldn't do anything. Duo and Wufei always threaten each other but they were very good friends.

"Sure." Wufei mumbled as he stomped beside her. They entered Duo's building from the back, the route Duo and he planned a long time ago. Nobody had ever given them trouble, and Duo's and Hilde's floor staff were already used to Relena's visits.

They stopped just in front of Duo's door.

"Go on inside and I'll check the conference room." Wufei ordered as he waited for her to move.

"As usual." Relena brought her large handbag between them and opened it. "Deposit your guns here, please."

"Onna, I'm not going to use it on that baka! It's going to be a waste of bullets."

Relena just smiled at his sarcastic tone. "Please, Wufei."

With a grumble, Wufei took off his guns and dropped them in the bag.

"One more…" Relena tapped her foot as she waited. "I only counted six in there."

Another low growl came from Wufei. "Fine! There!" He dropped his last gun inside her purse. "Happy?!"

"Very." Relena placed a hand on Wufei's shoulder and gave another smile. "Thank you."

He hates it when she's being so nice… and she's usually nice, darn it! Wufei watched her enter the room then stomped into the conference room.

"Hey Relena. No trouble, right?" Duo walked around his desk then gave her a hug.

"Nope. No trouble at all. How have you been?" They let go of each other and Relena had this sudden sinking feeling that he was up to something.

"Oh I'm going to be just fine… in a short while." Duo answered with that grin.

"No… Not another prank Duo! You're going to get him mad! I'm going to sit with him for ten hours in the shuttle. Please don't tell me that it's another-"

"All clear in th-"

A thud akin to the sound from a volleyball when hit, made Relena turn around and face the entrance to the conference room where Wufei was… standing covered- dripping!- with ice cream and cherries!!! Slowly… a cherry rolled down from his ice cream covered hair, to his nose then onto the floor.

"Oh no…" That was all she could say within those few minutes when even Wufei was stunned then-

"MA-MA-MAAAAAAAXXXXWWWWWEEEELLLLL!!!!!" He was so angry he could barely speak.

The hum of barely contained laughter came from behind Relena and she knew that Duo was enjoying the show. She could see murder in Wufei's eyes!

"What's happening in… here…" Hilde came inside the room and her eyes fell on… Wufei, then on the bewildered Relena, and, finally, laughing Duo. She looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. "Thank God I asked for marble flooring instead of carpet!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Wufei vaulted to Duo's direction.

Duo quickly grabbed Relena's shoulder and made her his shield while he laughed. He could barely stand! "You… You won't…! You'll… harm Relena if… you do…"

Relena, being pushed hither and thither, had enough. "Alright both of you! Stop this at once!"

Wufei and Duo stopped, even Hilde's eyebrow rose. Relena rarely uses this tone of voice!

She moved away from Duo and instantly saw the lethal glimmer in Wufei's eyes. "Wufei, don't move." She faced Duo. "You better have spare clothing for Wufei or else."

Hilde grinned. Now that's telling them to behave!

Duo nodded, surprised at Relena's anger, then pointed to the other door, east of his office. "I bought extra clothes just for Wufei. It's in my bathroom."

Relena turned to her bodyguard. "Wufei, go on and change." Her eyes showed her other message as well and Wufei grumbled as he left a trail of ice cream on the floor. But he'd be damned if he goes down without a fight! Before he walked inside the bathroom, he turned and-

Hilde's eyes widened as she watched Wufei throw a handful of slightly solid ice cream at the back of Duo's head!

Duo felt the ice cream slide down his nape and promptly cried out his surprise just as Wufei closed the door behind him. "YUCK!" Quickly, he grabbed his hanky to wipe the cold, icky stuff from his hair.

"Yuck is right. You deserved that." Hilde scolded as she walked to him and started to help while Relena just shook her head.

"Really, Duo. You have to stop teasing Wufei like that."

"Hey, he knows I'm just joking. Besides, that man is too serious for his own good… Him, Heero and Trowa all need to lighten up a bit. I'm just here to remind 'em." He slightly turned to Hilde. "Is it gone, angel?"

"Not quite." She was taking her time because… well… because it was a rare treat to hold his hair.

Relena grinned. With the way Duo had stilled, and with that faint smile playing on his lips, she could tell that he liked what Hilde was doing. "So, Hilde. Did you enjoy last night?"

Duo's content smile disappeared as his eyes slanted.

Hilde innocently answered. "Yes. He was quite a charmer."

"I told you he would be nice." Relena goaded while Duo's lips turned into a line.

"Yes. He was. Handsome and charming… whoever will catch his attention would find quite a guy."

Duo was having a hard time controlling his anger. How could they talk as if he wasn't in the room?! Irritated, he jerked away from Hilde instead. "I'll finish it."

Hilde shook her head. "No. It's done." She frowned at his cold voice.

"Fine. Thanks." Duo stalked off to his desk, miserably sat on his chair, and then glared at the two women.

'This is better than a movie!' Relena almost clapped and cheered at Duo's reaction. She should ask Charlie to take Hilde out some more!

Hilde looked from Duo to Relena with an inquiring frown. Relena just gave a calculated bewildered look while Duo kept his glare.

'Time to change tactics.' Relena grabbed Hilde's arm and pulled her near Duo's desk. "Guess what! I think I found the house I want!" She dropped her purse on Duo's table then started to take out Wufei's guns.

Duo's eyes widened, his initial anger gone as he stared at Relena in confusion. "Hell, Relena! I thought you promote peace!"

Hilde sighed. The answer was obvious. "Those are Wufei's, Duo. Just be happy that Relena had enough sense to ask for them before Wufei came in here or you'd be dead."

"Ah! Here it is!" Relena finally pulled out a magazine then dropped it in the middle of Duo's already cluttered desk. "Turn to page 75." She started to put the guns back inside her bag while the two looked for the number.

"Whoa gurl! That's some house!"

"Relena! Are you sure you want to buy… that?"

Relena nodded as she sat into one of the chairs. "It's in a wonderful countryside! And by the time I retire, it's going to be all mine."

"And… er… Who's going to live with you in that mansion?" Duo leaned over and rapped her head. "That's a big house for one person." 

Hilde nodded her agreement.

"Well… I want to have children." Relena blushed. "If I have to adopt to get one, I will."

"Yeah. That's 'coz you're picky. You could have any guy you want and you chose to stay faithful to our ghostly pilot." 

The three laughed. It was reality but the way Duo had said it… funny. Besides, they would rather laugh than cry, anyway.

"Well, the thing is, I already gave my down payment and I'm moving in right after my farewell to arms!"

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" Duo added as he stood up and saluted. The trio laughed again. Just then, Wufei walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed in- thankfully- clothes that fit him, without the hint of ice cream, or cherry, on his wet hair.

He gave one withering glare at Duo then stalked off out the door. "I'm going to wait for you out there." He was a bit mad at Duo, but he knew a good trick when played… Duo's going to get his end of the joke soon, though… very, very soon…

Relena shook her head. "You're in trouble, Bozo."

"I second that." Hilde looked from the ice cream spots to the pail on top of the conference room door. "I think I better call in the cleaners. I don't want ants in the building." With that said, she left the two. The moment the door closed behind her, she searched for Wufei, found, and walked to him. "Hey."

Wufei nodded. 

"Do me a favor." 

Wufei glared at her. She might not have been in on the joke, but one could never be too sure.

"When you make him pay, hit him really hard, okay?"

Wufei blinked a couple of times in confusion then his eyes followed her as she walked into her own office and closed the door. 'Hmm… I knew I liked her…' Anyone who wants to get Duo as badly as he does is an ace in his book.

Inside the office, Relena observed Duo as he stared at his closed door. "Duo? Still with me…?" These two… if it weren't for their cheerfulness, who knew how she would have ended up? She was just glad that Duo took the initiative to become friends.

Duo shook his head. "Huh? Yeah… Of course. Where else could I be?" Was he staring at Hilde's butt back there?

Relena bit back a grin as she tapped one corner of her lips. "Er… Duo… how about you wipe that… uh… drool from your lips…"

Duo's eyes widened as his right hand instantly moved to his lips and felt… nothing.

Laughter left Relena and almost made her fall from her chair. "I wish I had a camera with me! That look was just precious!"

He felt the initial anger, instantly replaced with merriment as he willingly accepted the joke. He looked away, playfully pouted, and performed his part. "Yeah… yeah… Laughing at my demise… What kind of a friend are you?"

With an amused smile still on her lips, Relena answered. "The one who cares about you a lot… and you know what…?" She decided it was time for her to leave. 

Duo shook his head, wondering what was going on inside Relena's head. "What?"

She leaned over his desk, reached out for him, and then pressed her palm on his forehead. "Hmm… you're stuttering, your eyes are dilated and you're flushed." She dropped back on her seat and Duo looked at her in amusement.

"Well? What's my prognosis?"

"A clear case of blind-side-strike." Relena nodded, her face schooled in utter seriousness.

Duo's eyebrow shot up as if shocked. "Blind-side-strike, eh? What is it?"

Relena checked her watch quickly. "That means you have to talk to yourself." She checked her watch, showed the calculated 'Uh oh! I'm late!' look, and stood. "I have to go... My flight…"

Duo nodded as moved his chair, preparing to walk her out of the building when she shook her head. 

"No, don't worry. I've got Wufei with me." She took her bag and inserted the magazine inside. "Alright. See you soon. I'll say good bye to Hilde on my way out."

"Okay… Take care, Rel." It was the only think he could say as he watched her walk to the door, stop, and suddenly turn around.

"Duo…" She looked at the floor then at his face. "One more thing before I leave…"

"Yeah?" Why does it feel as if it this was a crucial moment?

"At least…" Relena breathed in deeply, sweet pain encompassing her chest. "At least I know how I feel about Heero…" She decided not to tell him… He needs to figure this out by himself.

Duo's eyes popped wide but before he utter a single syllable, Relena had already closed his door… ''At least I know what I feel …'?' His head tilted to one side as he stared at the door in complete loss. "What the hell do you mean?"

His life was dominated by confusion, but right now… it's as if he was on the very peak of it all.

"I need something to do…" He glanced down on his papers and started to work.

****

…

His hand went up to knock on her door when giggles caught his attention.

"You sure?"

Duo frowned, a bit bewildered. That was Hilde's voice… 

"I'm definitely sure…"

Duo nearly crushed the papers in his hand. That low, radio voice grated at his nerves. It was that limo guy!!! Anger propelled him to opened the door and finally meet his adversary.

His eyes fell on starched white polo shirt and neatly trimmed sandy brown hair, hunched over Hilde's desk… obviously kissing her…

Wide violet eyes dominated his face… His braid lay limply on his back just as his hands nearly dropped the papers onto the floor… Pain like none he had ever felt sliced through him like a scythe.

The couple languidly turned to look at their intruder then quickly scrambled away from each other.

"Duo… this isn't what you think it is." She didn't even know why she was trying to explain!

Duo couldn't speak… The way he saw him… her… Them… Those two… Him! That… that ass he considered a friend!!! That back stabber!!! Why did it hurt so much?

"Duo, I can explain." The man to Hilde's left started. He could see what's going on in Duo's head right now, and he does not want to create trouble for these two… Duo and Hilde were meant for each other.

He still couldn't move. 'How could he?! I thought he was my friend…! Double crossing ass!' He just couldn't believe it… Of all people, why did it have to be- "Charlie." Relena's Charlie… Duo croaked out the name like a ragged tune.

Hilde finally got enough strength to stand up with her Jell-O knees. She knew why she was like this… It was because she didn't want Duo to think that she and Charlie were… And… and… it's not as if Duo would ever look at her, but… "Duo, really…" When he didn't acknowledge her, she knew that he wouldn't listen. With a sigh, she resigned the case to the inevitable.

"Duo, I was just trying to take out something in her eyes, that's all." Charlie brought his hands up in a surrendering stance with a shrug. "We weren't doing anything! Really!"

Duo didn't listen. He glanced at Hilde's face. Was that guilt? Why was she squinting her eyes like that?

"It's still there…" Hilde's hand went up to her eyes then pressed just underneath it. "Darn it!"

Duo looked at the event with disbelief and distrust, but decided to play along with it. "What is it?"

Charlie moved forward, ready to be of assistance. "Here, let me help."

Hilde quickly shook her head. "No thanks. The last time you did that, you said it wasn't there anymore and it's still there." With one squinted eye, she started to walk to her private bathroom. "Wait here you two."

It was the last thing she said before the door closed. Charlie looked at Duo just as murderous violet eyes glared at him.

"Uhm…" Charlie cleared his throat. "Duo, I-"

"You were the one Hilde went out with the other night, huh?"

Charlie quickly nodded. "I was in town for a client. Relena called me up to be their escort and she wanted to get a man's opinion about Hilde's new look."

Duo's eyes slanted to dangerous slits. "You and Hilde were with Relena the whole time?" Why was he even questioning that event?! It shouldn't concern him this much!

"Yes. I was just their chaperon." He had the sudden urge to pull at his collar and fidget! Damn! The last time he felt like this, it was during his first court appearance as a junior partner!!!

Duo's eyebrow rose in disbelief. "Yeah… Chaperon." He could still remember that low voiced compliment. The mere thought made Duo walk to Charlie in lightning speed and the next thing the sandy haired man knew, Duo's hands were clutching his collar. "You didn't touch her, did you?" 

Charlie quickly shook his head. He was almost the same built as Duo… but aside from courtroom brawls, and occasional boxing challenges, he was not an expert fighter. "No! Honest, man! Why would I touch your woman?! Relena would kill me!" Of course Relena wouldn't, but she could make his life a miserable hell…

Something he said grabbed Duo… 'Your woman'… "Hilde's not my woman." The words came out weak and without any conviction at all, not to mention that it left a twinge of sickly feeling at the base of his stomach…

"Sure… sure. Whatever you say, Duo." Charlie hid a smirk. Duo's still denying it… Relena was so right. He shouldn't have bet against her. The grip on his collar lightened while he watched the tumult of emotion rush over Duo's face.

"It's finally out!" Hilde walked into the room with a victorious smile. Charlie grinned as he faced Hilde while Duo, looked at her with a frown as if he was seeing her for the first time. "So, what did you want to see me for, Duo?" She walked to the back of her table and sat in her seat while she waited for his answer.

Duo gulped. "I… you… uh…" What was he going to tell her? "You know… I'll… I'll get back to you on that."

Hilde frowned while Charlie started choking in laughter as he watched Duo crab-walk to the door.

"Uh… Bye Hilde."

****

…

Life went on like the usual for the next few days- except for the fact that Duo had kept on waking up early enough to cook breakfast and be the one to rouse Hilde and… actually clean the house! One morning, he was dusting, the next, he was mopping.

She looked around their small home and shook her head in amazement. Duo even took time to polish some of their varnished tables!

'I wonder what had gotten into him…' He helped her with dishes and cleaning the house before, so she couldn't say that he's lazy, but these past few days… he seemed unlike himself and the non-stop cleaning was freaking her out!

She tried to ask him if there was anything wrong, but he never said anything except for that- 'I'm just in the mood' answer of his.

"Honestly…" She turned the papers in her hand then checked the clock over the kitchen doorway. He said he was just going to the gym… "Oh Hilde… stop worrying about him. He's a big boy." Once again, she reprimanded herself.

Her eyes were tired. She was tired but she would like to go through two more stacks of papers before calls it a day. With a sigh, she walked to the couch, papers tucked in the crook of her arm, then laid down in it and tried to finish…

****

…

He opened the door as quietly as he could. The dim, yellow light from their living room made him smile a little bit. Hilde had told him, a long time ago, that she didn't want him stumbling around the house for the light switch when he comes home from… well… wherever he came from. A warm feeling rushed through him as he remembered that day. She had always cared for him. The best friend anyone could ever have…

He was refreshed from the heavy workout tonight. He felt peaceful and calm, not to mention clear headed- a first in these past couple of weeks.

A frown appeared on his face as he stopped just outside their living room. 'She fell asleep on the couch again.' Duo shook his head as he headed for her. There were papers on her chest, and some were on the floor.

"You overwork yourself too much, angel." He collected the papers on the floor then slowly picked the ones littered over her chest. He did not want to disturb her. She really did need sleep with the way projects just mushroomed out from here and there. 

At that moment, she turned and placed her hands under her cheek while a small smile played on her lips as if she was dreaming of something so wonderful… Right then and there, he remembered why he started calling her angel. That one night, a few weeks after the first war… Hilde had taken him in, gave him a place to stay. He had a nightmare and when he woke up, she was there, beside him. She held his hand while she whispered soothing sounds to him, while she talked to him. The way her bangs fell down her eyes… the way her white, cotton nightgown seemed to glow against the stark darkness of the room…

"Why are you so good to me?" Duo leaned down to tenderly brush her bangs away from her sweet face. "Why did you ever took me in?" He was forever grateful to her… Funny… he has enough money to buy his own house, but he couldn't seem to stay away from this place.

He didn't know how long he sat on his heels and stared at her, but when his muscles started cramping up, he finally decided to carry her into her room. With the papers, neatly stacked on the table, he gently, effortlessly scooped her up from the couch. 

She moved in his embrace and it just felt so good to have her there. "Don't wake up on me, now…" He had never broken his record with her- his record in getting Hilde to bed, undisturbed, whenever she falls asleep on the couch. As if she heard him, she stilled and he enjoyed the feel of her weight against his chest.

Slowly, he walked to her room. Affectionately, he deposited her on her bed and tucked her in. She didn't wake up. Another point.

He sat on her bed and stared at her some more. A hand rubbed over his face and already, he could feel the start of his stubble against his palm. The artificial moonlight from her window fell hauntingly on the bed and softened her fragile face. 

The urge to kiss her engulfed him. Her lips beckoned. It was a moment he could steal… and he leaned down to her face to do as his heart whispered for him to do so… Then… he stopped just a breath away and closed his eyes. Conscience warred with need… with want… and conscience won. Instead, he angled his head a little higher and lovingly kissed her cute little nose instead.

The peace and tranquility he had felt shattered to a million pieces, then he was engulfed in the darkness of confusion. Before he could lose control of his actions, Duo stood up and walked out of her room. Questions pestered him like dogs nipping at his heels but at the moment, he didn't have any answer, nor did he have the energy to block them out… 

He reached the lamp and turned it off. Darkness surrounded him, and darkness he accepted. His feet slowly took him back in that small hallway, just two-arm lengths away from each other's door… He stopped outside her room.

Her friendship mattered more than his life to him … He's not about to throw it away just because his body started craving for her. Duo nodded. 'I'll just have to act as if nothing ever happened…' He could do that… He turned away from her door and continued on into his own room…

Inside Hilde's room, she opened her eyes. She woke up in his arms like the many times in the past. The first time, she kept herself still because she didn't know what else to do. The second time, she let herself enjoy his warmth and so did the next after that, and the next… Sometimes she would consciously sleep in the couch with the knowledge that he would bring her into her room. Always, she would wake up in his arms, as if her body was attuned to his.

Slowly, her hand went up to her nose and rubbed it. Why did he kiss her on the nose? She had felt his breath over her lips and had almost tilted her face to close that small gap between them… He asked her those questions again…

A sigh escaped her. "Duo… you're so stupid…" Stupid man to not even notice that she loves him so… That was her only reason. "Why did I have to fall in love with you, anyway?"

With a frustrated groan, she turned to her other side, burrowed deeper inside her covers, and tried to go back to sleep…

_Authoress_: [Heartfire][1]

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	6. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 6

- Chimera of Life - **

- chimera of life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Six  
By Heartfire **

~*~

"Duo! Duo guess what!" Hilde barged into his office with a wide smile on her face and a letter, being waved high in the air.

He couldn't help but smile at her excitement. "Well… I don't think there's any fire… a bomb threat?"

"No, silly!" Hilde ran to him and nearly made him fall when she dropped her weight on his body in a spontaneous embrace. "We have it! We're invited!"

Duo tried to catch his breath first then followed the waving letter around. "What? Where?"

"Look!" She pressed the letter in front of his face and Duo had to place his hands on her shoulder to still her.

"Hilde, angel, calm down and let me take a look, okay?"

With a wide smile on her face, Hilde tried to sit still on his knees and let go of the white, gold trimmed letter. "Just imagine! If we get this deal…! We wouldn't have to take another project for the next two years!"

Duo quickly read through the invitation with a frown, curious, though the emblem letterhead was already a huge tip.

"Remember? They're going to choose from forty already selected companies and we're one of them!!!" Hilde squealed from Duo's lap and hugged him again. "Can you believe it!? Our company! I thought we'd never get in when I filled out that form!"

"Yes… yes… it's all great…" Something on the letter blinked red at him.

Hilde's excitement toned down a little as she noticed Duo's frown. "You… you don't look excited at all…"

"Hilde, I don't care if our company wasn't one of the best." Duo placed the letter on his table. "I don't care if we were never invited to these things. If I know that our employees were all having fun and that we please our customers, that is what I consider best."

"Alright…" Hilde stood up from Duo's lap and he instantly missed her weight. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Hilde, I think you forgot about our acquisition meeting on one of the days during that five day invitation, and the plant inspection the day before that."

Her lips turned into an 'o' before one of her hands covered it then she reached for the letter to check the date. "Oh… Oh no…"

"And remember, Taggert specifically said that it was the only day he's open. Plus, we already set the date with the plant a month ago." He saw the flicker of disappointment in her eyes and he stood up, walked behind her, and started massaging her shoulders. "Hey, you okay?"

"I… I wanted to go… I wanted to show them that MS Industries was-"

Duo turned her around then placed his hand over her lips. "Hilde, we don't have to prove to anyone that we're the best. They just have to look at our records." 

She nodded, but he could be blind and he would still see that regret in her eyes… He knew how much she wanted to get into this convention since the day Arche had announced that small opening in their closed market. He's just happy that the convention was going to be held in a free zone. 

"Tell you what… How about you go to this thing," Duo reached for the invitation and placed it in Hilde's hands. "And I will go to the meetings."

Hilde bit her lower lip. Two things on two of the days… 

"Hey, this is why there's two of us here. This was one of the things we decided on a long time ago." He tipped her chin up to make her look at him in the eyes. "Besides, You're gonna knock 'em dead and take home that contract without even trying."

She couldn't stop the smile on her face. "Thanks…" She closed the distance between them and hugged him. He understood how much she wanted to get Arche's market. Who wouldn't be thankful for such a wonderful partner?

Duo looked at her, his hands in the air, on either side of him, unable to decide whether to hug her or not. Then, he sighed, gave up to the inevitable, and hugged her. "Hey, how about if we celebrate, huh? I mean, I'm probably going to get that deal with Taggert, and Arche invited you because of your beautiful portfolio..."

"Hmmm… I could wear that one dress Relena and I bought with your money…" She rubbed her face on his chest and breathed in his cologne. He smells so good!

Duo closed his eyes and counted to ten while he willed his body to stay calm. "What? You're hoarding one more dress in that closet of yours?"

Hilde laughed. "Yep."

"So… how about that exclusive club down the Heights? Dinner and dance?"

"Sounds good." She pulled away from him for her sake, and so he could make the reservations.

Duo thanked and cursed at the same time. He didn't want to let go of Hilde, but he knew he had to. His fingers flew over their phone, and he focused on the screen to check the numbers that appeared and disappeared. He finally pressed stop and the dial button.

His call was promptly answered. "Hi there. Reservations for two, tonight please."

Hilde sat on the edge of Duo's desk to look at the monitor.

The silver attired teen glanced back at them with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, sir. The club is booked for the night."

Duo frowned. "But-" He stopped as he felt Hilde's hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, she just shook her head. With a sigh, he faced the monitor once again. "Fine. Forget it."

"Have a nice day, sir."

The monitor turned black and Duo twisted in his seat to face her. "Well… they're booked."

"Hey, it's okay. I wouldn't care if we celebrated and danced at home." Hilde shrugged as she stood up. She really didn't care. Though she _was_ looking forward to dancing- she stopped when her hand was suddenly encompassed in his.

"Hey, that ain't a bad idea. That is, if you don't mind." Duo quickly let her go, when he felt his skin tingle at her touch.

Hilde frowned. "At home?" Her frown slowly disappeared, replaced by a smile. "All right, I'll cook."

"Nah. I'll cook. We're celebrating because you got that invitation!"

At that announcement Hilde backtracked and faced Duo with hands on her hips. "Okay. Duo, what is wrong?!" She needs to get to the bottom of this. It's becoming too much like a dream! "I turned a blind eye when you started waking up early, when you started cooking breakfast, and when you mowed the lawn even though the grass was only an inch high! You cleaned the roof yesterday and now… volunteering to cook dinner? Is there something you're not telling me? I mean… not that you don't work… but this is not like you! You're scaring me!"

Duo blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"I mean, 'Oh I'll do that Hilde', or 'Wake up Hilde', or 'I'll take care of that, Hilde.'" She leaned to him and reached out to touch his cheek, to cup his suddenly all too worried face… "If there's something that's bothering you… Please tell me. I'll do anything to help…"

Duo slightly turned his face and kissed Hilde's right palm just because he couldn't help himself. "Nothing's wrong, angel… I'm just… I'm probably just going through a phase…" 

Hilde forced herself not to gasp when his lips touched her palm. "Are you sure? Are you sure you're all right?"

Duo nodded and then he slowly brought her hands down from his face. "I'm fine."

"Okay." Hilde sighed and let her hands hang limply by her side. "Just remember… I'm here for you."

Duo nodded, the lines on his face suddenly more pronounced. "I know, Hilde… I know…"

They stared at each other for a few more minutes finally Hilde nodded and turned away. Duo closed his eyes and let his body rest in his chair as if boneless while Hilde didn't stop walking until she reached her office, closed her door, then leaned against it with a sigh. She's as bad as Relena, and that, in her book, was hopeless.

****

…

"Duo! May I come out now? I really do want to help!" Hilde offered from inside her room.

"No! Just stay there until I tell you to come ou- ouch!"

She bit her lower lip to stop a laugh. For a moment, she felt guilty then she shook her head. The loud clanging sounds of her Teflon pans could probably be heard to the end of the street! "Are you sure you don't need me in there?"

Duo cursed. "I said I'm going to cook dinner and I will! Now, quit asking!"

Hilde grimaced as she heard another pan meet whatever it was it met. He's murdering her kitchen!!! Cooking bacon, eggs, and hash browns were different from cooking dinner, after all!

He had been acting strange since she came home… Actually, she came home first, then, an hour later, he came in and told her to go to her room, with a please, of course. That was before all the banging, clashing, and chopping sounds started echoing inside the house. 

She sighed. "Well… there's nothing to do now but get ready, I suppose…" She pulled out a bag from her last drawer and spilled the contents onto her dresser. "Now which color…?"

****

…

She was sitting on the edge of her bed for God knew how long, with her chin propped on her palm and her elbow on her knees while she stared at the closed door. The mutter of expletives had finished about fifteen minutes ago and she heard him go inside his room. Either he already gave up or… he was getting ready. Either way, she told herself that she would not look at their kitchen, fearing the worst.

She looked down, at her dress, and started to feel nervous. Maybe she was a bit overdressed? Maybe she was revealing too much? What about her make up? 

Hilde ran to her dresser and touched up on her lipstick. Funny… Why was she so nervous when they were just going to eat inside the house?

****

…

Duo pulled at the collar of his black, long sleeved silk shirt, checked his appearance for the last time then pulled at the first two buttons from his neck. 

"Much better…" He nodded his approval. Good enough for a _friendly_ and casual night out… He turned and eyed the fresh catleya over a bed of organza inside its plastic container, and grinned. Yep! He's ready. He's gonna give Hilde the time of her life tonight, even if it meant acting like a gentleman until it kills him.

With the box under his arm, he quickly walked out of his room, checked the set table in front of their new brick fireplace, tweaked centerpiece rose he bought after work, checked the champagne in the silver bucket which he bought along with the silver covers for the plates and new table napkins and placemats, then grinned his approval. 

Now, all that's left was to set the mood… He turned on their fireplace, switched off the lights, and the soft, yellow orange glow from the fire reflected against the silver trays. Lastly, he walked to the stereo, pressed the programmed music, and turned the volume knob a few notches down.

Soft violin music filtered through the air and he knew that everything was ready… All he needed was the girl… Perfect.

Catleya in hand, Duo walked to Hilde's door and knocked. "Hilde? Are you ready?"

She jumped from her bed in nervous anticipation, smoothed her dress over her hips and breathed in deeply. "Yes I am. Is it time to come out?"

"Yep."

"All right… I'm coming out. Don't laugh or I'm going to punch you." 

'Same old Hilde.' Duo grinned. "I promise."

She took another deep breath then opened the door.

Duo's grin froze on his face.

Hilde felt a blush start to bloom on her cheeks. This handsome man was actually taking her to dinner with food he had slaved over for nearly three hours. God! She's nervous and he's… magnificent! His silk shirt hinted at the hard muscles underneath and his opened collar took her breath away.

He blinked a couple of times more, just to make sure that she wasn't some vision he made up. No… this was Hilde, the real Hilde… not a fake one like the ones he had found himself dreaming of… This was she, with her hair brushed back, wearing an elegant dress that ended just below her knees. It was enough to accentuate the length of her legs, and her beautifully curved hips. Elegant, black, strappy high heels, and… Duo looked up from her feet and gulped once again. Her upper torso looked snug with that heart shaped cut that hinted at her full breast. A simple silver chain dangled around her neck- familiar necklace… familiar earrings.

"You're wearing the present I gave you last Christmas." He was finally able to talk and remembered when he saw the set on Earth. It started showering and he entered the first store in his path just to keep himself dry. He found himself standing in a jewelry store. Curious, he started looking around then he saw them. An earrings and necklace set, star designed diamonds on platinum and he thought of Hilde… Christmas was just around the corner, he wanted to give her something and it seemed as if his prayers were answered. He had never seen her wear them until tonight… It looked beautiful on her.

The blush on her face became more pronounced. "Yes… I thought that it might… go well with the dress… you know, platinum and diamonds with a black dress." Truthfully speaking, when she received the gift from Duo, she could only stare at it. They were stunning. She could tell that they had cost him a lot and… she had asked herself why he gave her the gift. When she couldn't come up with any answers, she just let it go.

"They… definitely look…" He wanted to say 'nice' but that wasn't the word that left his lips. "…Beautiful." It came out in a half whisper. He was in a complete state of awe!

"Well…" Hilde swallowed and tried to grasp at the last remaining reason in her mind before she got carried away. "You look handsome yourself."

For a moment, Duo just stared at her then he finally shook himself out of his stupor and remembered that he was supposed to be a friend. He grinned. "Gee, thanks." He brought the orchid in front of Hilde. "This is for you."

She was touched. It was rare that she receive gifts such as these. "Duo… This is… lovely."

'Not as lovely as you.' He smiled. He was able refrain from saying those words! Thank you, Lord!

Hilde took the flower out of its box, appreciatively examined it, and then looked up at Duo. "Could you… Would you pin this on for me?" She placed the orchid on top of her left, one-inch strap and Duo gulped.

"Sure. Easy." His hand brushed against her pearly skin and he nearly jumped at the shock. He was having a hard time trying to control his shaking fingers! "There! All done." He watched as she turned her head to the side and smelled the orchid while her eyes closed.

"Thank you, Duo." She opened her eyes and gave him a smile. Who wouldn't smile?

"You're welcome." He took a step forward then offered his arm. "Shall we, Ms. Schebecker?"

"Of course." Hilde placed her hand in the crook of his arm and let him lead her to… A place of dreams! "Oh… my…"

They stood at the threshold of their transformed living room. Their sofas were carefully placed on the sides, while a small table covered with white cloth, adorned the center. The whole thing was enough to melt the arctic, if arctic had a heart!

Duo bit his lower lips as he gauged Hilde's reaction. He usually could read her like a book, but right now, he was too nervous. "Do… do you like it?" 

Hilde turned to him and couldn't help but hug him around the waist. "Duo… I… I can't believe you did this…" Oh God! She was starting to cry! Duo's silk shirt… She pushed herself away from him and quickly turned with her head down while her fingers tried to wipe away the tears before it could make a trail. "S-something… in my eye…"

'She's… crying…!' A warm feeling enveloped him. She really liked it! Gently, he touched her shoulder then turned her around just as he reached for his hanky. He's not going to ask any questions… Her sparkling eyes was enough… 

"Here…" Tenderly, he patted just below her eyes. "Do you want me to blow on it? Which one has that thing?" His hand traveled from her shoulder to her chin to tilt it this way and that, as if trying to look for- that thing.

Hilde smiled, she knew exactly what he was doing. No questions… "I think it's gone." So… he's acting like his usual self… she should, too. Not like a girl in love. She glanced at the middle of their living room and let the soft music fill her ears. "I wonder when I'm going to wake up from this dream…"

The whisper reached his ear and Duo frowned. "What do you mean?"

She hadn't realized that she had spoken it out loud! Her eyes widened and she desperately tried to think up of an excuse. When she couldn't, she decided to speak her mind. "Well… You. This, cleaning, waking up early…" She swallowed a lump in her throat. "When I wake up, the whole house would probably be a mess again. Your shoes would be in front of the door, a magazine on the sofa. Your perfume soaked jacket in the kitchen-"

Duo pressed a finger on her lips as he grimaced. "Okay… okay. I get the picture. Have I been that bad?"

Hilde shook her head as sadness started to catch up with her. "No…" She looked away. "You helped maintain the house before, but when we started to build the company, we became busy. Then, after that, the yearly 'Mr. Bachelors' and you decided to have fun. With work and dating other girls… well…" Hilde shrugged and tried to show him that she didn't really care, even though it mattered a great deal. "Well, you just forgot… some of us back here."

A sinking, gnawing feeling went through Duo. "I'm sorry…" He apologized for everything he knew he did wrong, and those he didn't know.

"No. It's all right." Hilde forced a smile on her face as she faced him. She had reached the ground and found that hard, leveled, gravity-pulled plane. "You were just living your life to the fullest. There's nothing wrong with doing that."

"But what about you?" His hands reached for hers, and a satisfying feeling rushed through him at the touch of her ring. "I rarely see you out of the office… you only go to your family… no…" Duo stopped a grimace, "… men…"

A small, short laugh escaped her. She didn't know what else to do. "Duo, I chose how to live my life a long time ago. I'm happy just where I am, doing what I'm doing."

Duo bit his lower lip. She said it. She's happy just where she was… but… "Don't you want more?" 

A forlorn smile flitted on her lips. "Sometimes…"

"How about just for tonight, I'll be your man, and you'll be my girl… and we're just out for dinner and dance…?" The words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them, so he just finished it. It was a bad move… He could already imagine the 'no' coming in loud and clear, along with a few other words-

"I'd… like that." If this was the nearest thing to a date with him… then she'll take it. Take it and treasure it.

Duo started, blinked in surprise then grinned. "Well… uh… okay. Good." Why did he suddenly feel as if he was about to go on his first date? He noticed that he was still holding her hands so he let her go. Consciously, he brushed back his bangs and tugged at his shirt. Then, with an unplanned shy smile, he held out his hand for her. "Shall we go to dinner, Hilde?" 

Hilde's heart pounded with excitement as she placed her hand in his, the words she would never dare say to him under normal circumstances left her lips. "I'm just waiting for you, Duo."

Her words made his heart flip and his hand curled over hers. Their eyes met with a hidden message, then a slow smile parted their lips as they started to walk to their table.

Funny how he had told himself over and over again to try to act like a gentleman with her when right now… right now, he wasn't even trying… He wanted her to value tonight… to be memorable, and that was what kept him going as he pulled out her chair, tenderly placed the table napkin over her lap, took out the cover from plate with flourish, and ate with soft voiced conversations and comfortable pauses… 

He had gone to so many restaurants… he had been out with so many women… but never in his entire life did he ever just wanted to put his elbow over the table and stare at the woman in front of him while she ate… or sigh and hold her hand the way he was itching to do so…

He checked her plate and found that she only had one more bite to go. He bid his time until she patted her lips with the napkin, then- "Hilde, would you like to dance?" It was an excuse to have her in his arms and just hoped that she didn't see through it.

She closed her eyes and listened to the enchanting melody from their speakers. A part of her whispered that this was a mistake, but another told her to take a chance, and chance, she took. When she opened her eyes and she saw his hopeful violet eyes, shadowed by his dark brown hair, she nodded. "I'd love to."

She waited for him to reach her side, to offer his hand that with a slight bow and his braid fell over his shoulder as she placed her hand in his to let him sweep her off her feet. 

His hands were shaking when he positioned them at the base of her back but after she willingly walked into his embrace, his nervousness disappeared, replaced by that comfortable feeling of belonging. She smelled heavenly and he pressed his cheek against her hair while she leaned against his chest and felt his calm heartbeat.

Nobody said anything… there wasn't anything to be said… they just let the music flow like a tranquil stream until it slowly faded…

They stopped and, against their wish, parted. They could hear the whirring sounds of the stereo while it tried to look for a song and Duo knew that the ones he had programmed were over.

"Well…" Hilde cleared her throat while her hand nervously tucked back a strand of hair.

He heard the start of a good bye in her voice… but he didn't want it to end yet… "I hope you had fun."

"I did." It wasn't an awkward situation, but they do have work tomorrow and… what was her other reason…? She mentally shook herself. "Thank you."

"I'll walk you to your room." It was the only thing he could say when his thoughts strayed to things one should never say to a best friend. Stay. Let me embrace you. Let me touch your face. Let me just look at you. 

What he said brought a genuine smile on her face. Usually it's 'I'll walk you to your car', and then 'I'll walk you to your door', wasn't it? Never 'I'll walk you to your room.' And then what would happen? 'I'll walk you to your bed?' At that thought, Hilde's hands turned cold and her eyes widened. 'Oh God… ! Did I just…!' 

"Hey, are you okay?" Duo frowned as he felt her tense.

The slight pressure on her arm made her turn to him and… blush. "Yes. Fine. Just fine. I think… You know, I'll take a rain check on that offer."

"Hilde, you're pale…" What's wrong with her? "You weren't allergic to the spices on the chicken, were you?"

"No… No! Really. I'm fine." She started to edge toward the hallway. She has to get out of there before she thinks of something more graphic… like the one in her mind right now! "Er… thanks for dinner. I'll do the dishes tomorrow."

She turned but he caught her hand, and she bit her lower lip and mentally cursed even as she turned to find her handsome Duo with a concerned look on his face.

"Hilde, you're pale, you're sweating and you're shaking. You know that I don't take no for an answer that easily so, no way I am gonna just let you walk a couple of steps to your door without me."

"But-" She wasn't able to say more because he was instantly beside her, with an arm embraced around her waist, smoothly pulling her into the hallway. What else could she do but comply?

They reached her door when they heard a click from the speakers and a new song filtered through the air. They stopped and let a few more bars play then looked at each other and grinned.

"Do you remember that song?" He didn't have to ask. He could tell that she did.

Hilde nodded. "It was playing when they approved our loan."

A chuckle left his throat. "Yep." Hilde was the one who answered the phone. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through the television when his braid was suddenly pulled, and Hilde hit the speaker button. He couldn't believe his ears! He was going to start a business… a dream… Hilde had pushed him along and he could finally start it. The song was playing over the radio. They just looked at each other then… they embraced… "We paid all of it, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did."

He looked at her now, and drowned in those midnight blue eyes. "Let's dance this one more song."

With a grin, Hilde agreed. Duo wrapped his hands around her waist and she encircled her arms around his neck. They danced three more consecutive songs when Duo finally realized that until she was out of sight, he would never let her go and would continue finding excuses to keep her in his arms… At the end of the third song, he unwillingly let her go and opened her door. He wouldn't dare touch her… if he does… God knows what could happen. "Good night, Hilde…"

It was over… her wonderful dream was over and tomorrow, they would wake up and find each other like before… Pals. That was all. But at least, now, she had tonight… "Good night, Duo."

She was about to close the door when Duo stopped her. Her heart was in her throat as she looked at him with confused eyes.

He cursed himself. He shouldn't have stopped her. He wanted to kiss her but… last time he kissed her, she punched the heck out of him… of course _that_ was because he was an ass but… "I… uh… I just wanted to say… that… uh…" What?! What?!

Her eyebrow rose as she waited. Duo does not usually stutter… why now?

"I'm going to do the dishes." An embarrassed smile appeared on his face as he grabbed hold of the knob. What he really wanted to do was kiss her senseless. "Good night." He pulled her door shut.

Hilde blinked in surprise… 'Well… that was… unusual…'

Slowly, she walked to her bathroom as she unpinned her catleya, and then brought it to her nose to smell its velvety petals.

What a memorable night. How she wished it would be like this forever.

She took her time to get ready for bed. Made sure that her face was clean of make up and was about to settle under her covers when she glanced out of her window. She often saw Duo's cross… It blinked at her tonight, under his black silk shirt. She was open to any religion, and though she had her own sometimes she still questioned it. But right now…

Hilde kneeled on the floor and placed her entwined hands on the windowsill. "God… if there is a God out there… I know I had been a good girl… I know I never asked much from you… but please… I would be happy if he would never marry anyone… except… except me… but, if it can't be me… no… I wish to have him beside me forever… I would be happy just for that… just don't take him away from me…" It was selfish of her to ask such a request. God, if real, probably has his jaw on the ground at her blatant request… but how she wished…

****

…

Outside her door, Duo slowly backed against the wall… The cold concrete seeped through his silk shirt but his stunned face didn't register anything as he slowly slid down onto the floor…

Something that was unconsciously locked away had been turned loose… 

"Oh God… I'm stupid…" The mumbled words were a plea and a curse. 

He had done some pretty stupid things in his life but this… this takes the cake… How could he have not noticed that… He fell in love with his best friend…! Had been in love with her for the longest time…!

Duo raked a hand through his thick mop of hair, pulled half of them as if the pain would awaken him from this dream but it didn't.

He started going out with those other women, who were the exact opposite of Hilde, because… because he was trying to… to stop himself… he was trying to force himself to love another but it never worked because when he comes home, he would stop by her door for a few seconds, listen, then move on… or see her by the couch and carry her to her bed to tuck her in… 

Didn't he… didn't he stay by her bed when they won the war a long time ago? He tried to make excuses… she was a good friend… she gave him a place to stay… he was grateful, the least he could do was to make sure she was alright… But those… those were just excuses to not let himself think of the inevitable. 

He had enough money to buy his own house but he never left… He had dated enough girls who threw themselves at him, ready to take him to bed, but he never touched them… He wanted someone else… someone to cherish and to hold… someone he wouldn't care to sit up and wait for a fever to break… someone who had been there for him in the middle of the night to hold him until he fell asleep once again…

Hilde.

Everything was right with her. Everything he had dreamt of was with her… At first he thought it was impulse that he would always consider Hilde in any of his plans. 'Let's ask Hilde.', or 'I don't think Hilde would like this.'… Then the mere fact that he had wanted her to say yes to the marriage thing… But it wasn't impulse… It wasn't habit. He wanted her to stay by his side… He wanted her to love him more…

'More than a friend…'

A deep sigh escaped his lips. The thing was… she never looked at him more than just a friend… and maybe it was partly his fault…

'Hey bud.', 'How's my pal?'… Were those any way to tell the person he loves that he loved her?!

He started to hit the back of his head against the wall. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid."

_Authoress_: [Heartfire][1]

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	7. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 7

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -   
Story One: Mutual Conquest   
Chapter Seven   
By Heartfire

**

~*~

"No!" Hilde pounded her fist on the table to accentuate her point. "Mr. Maxwell, in case you haven't noticed, there is an economic slowdown. There's going to be a recession soon. Acquiring one company is enough. We do not need another!"

A murmur of agreement flowed around the conference table with their other executives and representatives. Duo had surprised them with this news! He wanted to go into the electronics software industry by buying out a company. The idea was sound… but the fact that irked her was he never even asked for her opinion!!! 

Duo shook his head. He knew that this was going to be her reaction. Was he picking a fight with her? Well… if he was, damn stupid of him. She looked more beautiful when she's mad! Then again… maybe he was really just looking for the company's future. "I don't think you people understand." 

Hilde's eyebrow rose as he stood up. 

"Don't you see? The best time to acquire a company is when the economy _is_ a little bit soft! Technology will always be here. It's time we diversify MS Industries or we won't be able to compete and come out intact. If you are worried about information overload, that there are already too much out there and that the software industry does not have its previous edge, then I tell you now that you are wrong. We are still obtaining information. Humans have held on because we adapt to these changes! We have a war chest of 10 billion credits, dammit! Are we just going to let that money rot?!"

'Damn! He's good…' Hilde's lips pursed as another murmur of agreement flowed around the table. She knew he was good but… 

"All I'm asking from you people," Duo suavely announced, with his arms held widespread before them as if to embrace the whole table, "… is to keep an open mind about this and just think about it. We are only looking out for the best of MS Industries'." He let his arms drop to his sides then walked to his end of the table and sat down. "That is all, gentlemen," His eyes went to Hilde, still seething mad. "And lady."

She made it a point to ignore his look and glanced around the table instead. "Is there anyone else who wish to speak their opinion?" When no one answered, she took out her mini organizer. "Fine. I'm sure we all have things to do. I move for the board to discuss this on our next meeting."

The response came from the man she didn't expect to agree with her anytime soon. "Second."

Hilde glared at Duo. "We have a second by Mr. Maxwell. All in favor?"

The aye's erupted. 

"Opposed?"

There was none.

"Abstentions?"

One hand rose in the air.

Hilde nodded as she closed her organizer. "Fine. Meeting's adjourned." She stood, ready to leave when she remembered something. "Thomas. I need to talk to you."

Duo watched as Hilde took their employee representative aside and had a quick discussion with him. They were probably talking about a particular project manager's attitude. Complaints had reached their ears. Thomas was the last one to leave from their board and Duo stood up as Hilde breezed past him in the direction of her office.

"Hilde-"

"Shut up! I don't want to talk to your right now. I'm not in the mood."

She didn't even turn around to look at him! He followed her and- thankfully!- was able to stop her door from being slammed in front of his face. 

"Let go of the damn door!" She was going off at him. Oh hell!

"You're mad."

"You think?!" With a sigh, too near to a growl, Hilde let go of the door and walked to her desk instead.

Duo followed once again. Wasn't this his desired reaction from her? Didn't he _want_ to get her mad? If so, then why was he trying so hard to make amends? "Why are you so mad anyway?"

He asked the question before she could reach her chair and the tumult of anger erupted in her as she turned around, eyes blazing with fire, and stomped her foot. "I thought you were my friend and partner! The least you could have done was to tell me about this before the meeting! I looked like a dumb ass with my jaw on the table after you announced that… that preposterous idea!"

That was his intention… but he knew he did wrong.

"I mean, dammit Maxwell! You went in there ready with your proposal and speech! Ready to go and lead! And me, I, who was supposed to know things before the board met, to get ready for things, had stood there with question marks popping around my head! That was unfair!"

All right… it was… he wouldn't argue with that. She had looked cute though.

"We had an agreement a long time ago that when you propose one thing, if you were con, I'd be the pro! It was to create balance and you-" she couldn't finish her sentence in fury and gave a frustrated scream instead. That was the core of her anger

'And I didn't do my end of the deal.' Now he feels like shit.

"Just… Just get out of my office, Maxwell."

She had not said his name since he proposed his idea to the board… that usually meant- trouble. Explain… he needs to explain. "Hilde-"

"OUT! NOW!" Hilde pointed to her door and stomped her foot once again.

"But-"

"If you don't get out… I'll…" Hilde quickly skimmed her room, trying to generate any plan of action.

"You'll what?" Duo shifted his weight on one foot and crossed his arms over his chest. It was a cocky pose and he knew he was asking for more trouble when he did it. But the thing was, even though he was used to Hilde's anger, he was still a man. 

Hilde's eyes stopped on her vase with plastic orchids, walked to it, and then grabbed it. "I'm going to throw this at you."

"You wouldn't dare." Duo's eyes narrowed, not knowing that it only challenged her some more. He just added fuel to the fire. She was never mad enough to throw things at him befo- Duo quickly bent to his left side as the cream vase missed his head by mere inches!

The vase hit the wall and shattered into pieces. Hilde smiled victoriously.

Duo's wide eyes riveted back to her in complete disbelief. "You threw that vase at me!"

"One last warning, Maxwell."

Duo stared as she inched to her bookshelf then grabbed an armful of deadly books. "You wouldn't-"

Books started soaring in the air and Duo quickly ran out of her door. He had it shut just as he felt their impact against the wood.

"AND STAY OUT!"

Her scream couldn't be more pronounced. He couldn't believe she just did that! He knew she had a temper when aroused- Hell! He's been living with her! How could he not know?! He should have just shut his mouth and not provoke her. His eyes were closed throughout his mental ordeal and when he finally opened it, he saw their whole floor staff on their feet, staring at him.

"Er… I think she's mad." He gave an embarrassed grin to the thirty-ish people around him.

"Business or home trouble, Duo?"

Duo made a face. "Ha-ha. Very funny, Alex." Why were they looking at him like that?

"No. Really, Duo… Is there something you want to _tell_ us?"

Duo frowned as he stared at the person who asked, then around the room. "No… Not that I know of, Therese…"

"Hey… Hilde never gets this mad. Maybe she's pregnant."

"WHAT?! Who said that?! Okay… what's going on here?!" Duo glared at the giggling staff.

Their head Human Resource dislodged herself from the group, and walked up to him with a newspaper in her hand. "How about you read this, Duo."

"Huh? What is it, Dana?" 

Dana shrugged. "Oh… you'll find out." She slapped the newspaper against his chest and Duo, eager to get to the bottom of this thing, opened the folded paper. It was the entertainment page… front page and… A sinking feeling rushed through him. 'Hilde's not gonna be happy…' 

Their picture was right in the middle, blown up with a smaller picture of enlarged hands on either side just to show their rings… the header? 'Bad News, Girls!' The picture was taken yesterday, when he took Hilde out to get some ice cream and… he just wanted her to try the cheese flavored one! After all, it was the first time he was trying it. So, he offered his cone to her for a small lick, and that was when the picture caught the moment… Not that it was a bad picture of them. Hilde looked great in her new suit, and he looked all right… But… 

"Oh shit…" This time, she's not going to be just mad at him, she's going to be hell-bent furious with him after she sees this! 

"So…? When were you planning to tell us?!" Dana asked as she tapped on the newspaper. The staff cried their agreement.

"I knew they were good for each other. Didn't I tell you that?"

"See! I told you something was up!"

"Okay, okay! Hold it!!!" Duo held up his hands for silence. "How about-"

"Lorraine, I need that analysis on plant #7." Hilde's door opened and bumped against Duo, nearly making him fall flat on his face. Hilde felt the weight and looked around her door. "You're still here?! Get back into your hole!"

Duo looked from Hilde, then to his staff, then back at her. Newspaper in hand, he made his decision as he opened the door wider, walked inside while Hilde gasped, and then glanced over his shoulder. "Lorraine, hold the report." He closed the door.

"What the hell are you doing!?" 

"Trying to save you from the jaws of death back there." Duo pressed the article in front of her face.

At first, Hilde just frowned, then the picture caught her attention… The headline and- "Oh… no…"

It wasn't that he was expecting her to jump up in joy. He was expecting her to get angry… but not flustered and look utterly hopeless and… and… panicked… Was being married to him so bad that she gave those reactions? The thought made Duo feel sick. "Yeah… uh… 'Oh no…'." 

"Oh… this is bad…" She was in a dream… a nightmare…! This wasn't what Duo had wanted… His reputation… It wasn't that she didn't like the chance to finally say- 'Oh yes! I'm married to Duo Maxwell!', but… their marriage was just an agreement! He doesn't want to get tied down to her! She wasn't even the kind of girl he usually prefers, nor dates…!

Duo frowned as he watched her walk to the other side of the office while her head shook in worry. So… he just got the answer he was looking for… She couldn't picture herself being married to him… His stomach felt queasier. "Well… uh…"

"Are you mad?" She was still staring at the article. She's going to be in so much trouble with her family… They got a good picture of the rings, too.

Duo blinked. "Mad? No! No… Me? No! Are you?"

"Me? No! No… Not really. You know… This is salvageable." She shouldn't show him how much this affected her. She's going to put on a smile and get him out of this.

"What do you mean?" Duo frowned as he leaned against the door. It was either that, or tumble to the floor and… bawl.

"Well… sooner or later, they're going to find out that we're not really married… We were, legally for a month, but only for that time. So…" It was moments such as these that she hates her under pressure ideas. "Since we started fighting, we could stage more fights, and… once word gets out that we're not married, you could say, 'Oh… that's 'coz we filed for a divorce.'." 

No! "Not a bad idea, Schebecker." I don't like it! Dammit! I want to stay married!

"Good. Glad to hear you say that." She forced a fake smile. "Shall we start?"

"Sure." No!

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do.

"My… this is awkward… I can't seem to get mad at you…" Hilde bit her lower lip as she looked at the floor.

"Same here." Duo sighed. Well… This was what she wanted… "Call me an asshole."

His whisper reached her ears and she frowned in confusion. "Asshole."

"No… Louder. Like you mean it!" He looked at the floor, saw the still scattered books, and started picking it up.

The frown on her face disappeared as she realized what he was trying to do. "Asshole!!!"

"Dumbhead." He gave her the books.

"Dumbhead!"

"No! Hilde! I can explain!"

Hilde covered her lips as laughter threatened to leave her mouth. She finally understood what he was trying to do! "You…" 

Duo started to grin and make faces while she tried to think of what to say.

"I saw you with that… that brunette!!!"

"What brunette?!" Duo motioned for the books and Hilde threw one.

"The one you went out with last night, you twerp!!!"

The look on Duo's face was hilarious as he mouthed 'twerp' that Hilde's hands went around her stomach. "Aww… c'mon! You can do better than that!" Duo teased in a whisper.

Hilde shook her head. "Two timing…" She gave him a panicked look. 

"Son of a bitch." Duo mouthed. This was actually… fun.

Hilde shook her head. "Son of a bitch!!!" She threw another book.

"Ow! Hilde! Really! I can explain!" Duo pressed his hands over his chest and started to act as if he was just shot.

"I can't do this! I'm laughing too much!" Hilde whispered as she grabbed her desk in an effort not to fall on the ground and die of laughter. "Get out of my office!!!" She let go of her last books for effect.

Duo scooted towards the door linked to the conference room. "Fine!!! If you're not ready to listen… then… fine!" He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside the room. Hilde quickly complied then he shut the door with a slam. 

The blinds were shut, the walls were thick enough so that sounds from outside wouldn't penetrate, and vice versa… and with that knowledge in mind, the two fell down on their buttocks and laughed their hearts out. 

"Twerp?! I haven't heard that in years!!!"

"Well… what did you expect?" Hilde gasped, her stomach hurts from laughing too much. "You know I don't use too much expletives."

"You really are an angel." Duo shook his head, a small smile on his lips. He was gasping for air like she was. "I need to teach you some stuff."

"Well, you're the 'God of Death'. Devil's advocate."

"And God's." Duo added as he stood up, walked to her, and helped her up. "They're probably gonna go inside to check up on us. Don't forget to growl."

"Sure."

"Bitch."

Hilde blinked in confusion, surprised at what he said, then when she noticed the twinkle in his eyes, she got it. "Er… Shit head…?"

Duo gave a slight shrug. "Well… close enough… needs work."

"I know…"

They reached their own doors when Duo called her name. "Hilde."

She turned and saw his concerned face.

"Are you still mad at me… I mean… about earlier? I really didn't mean it…"

She tilted her head and searched for her answer… She had never lied to him. If she but felt a grain of anger, she would tell him yes… but at that moment… "No…"

"I won't do it again." 

The sincerity in his eyes was enough to make her believe. "I know."

"I promise." He wanted her to know that he would try his best not to disappoint her again. 

She nodded. "I believe you."

Those three simple words lifted his heart. "So… see you at home?"

Hilde smiled. "See you at home."

They looked at each other for a few more minutes, turned and finally entered their respective offices with a slightly peaceful heart… 

_Authoress_: [ Heartfire][1]

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	8. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 8

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -   
Story One: Mutual Conquest   
Chapter Eight   
By Heartfire

**

~*~

"MAIL!"

Duo announced as Hilde washed her hands free of dough. "Any for me?" She anxiously waited by the table as Duo came inside the kitchen.

"I'm sure there are. I don't even know how our mailman could fit all these in there! Mmm!" He stopped and breathed in the heavenly scent. "Something smells good…"

"Every single food smells good to you, jerk."

"I see you've been doing your homework." Duo plopped down on the chair, ready to divide their mail. "So, what's cookin'?"

She took the ones in her pile and started to skim through them. "I felt like baking an angel cake."

"Goody!" He loves her cooking.

"Yuck… more subscriptions, magazines and whatnots."

"Same here- uh…"

Hilde looked up from her mail and saw Duo staring at the last envelope in his hand. "What is it?"

Slowly, Duo tilted his head to stare at her. There were a thousand and one emotions tripping in his heart right now… So many… "Uh… Guess…"

"Well? Any clues?" Hilde prodded as she tried to snatch the envelope but Duo quickly pulled it away.

He could only think of one… "Er… Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell…"

Hilde stopped in mid-snatch, her smile frozen on her lips. There it was… their marriage license for a month… And what was she doing? She was halfway over the table, hands about to snatch the letter away. She quickly sat back down on her chair, thankfully able to keep her smile intact. "Really? I wonder what it looks like…" Simple… Slightly curious… Her voice sounded pleasantly surprised, and not at all mellow-dramatic…

He wanted to keep it… sentimentality's sake… but, if he kept it, she might think something differently and then things might not be the same and… "Here. You can have it." He dropped the envelope on her pile.

Hilde bit her lower lip as she looked from the envelope to Duo's 'I-don't-care-what-you-do-with-it' attitude. "All right… I mean… if you want me to…" She picked up the envelope and gently turned it over her palm.

Duo just watched her. 

"You know… this is funny…" Well, there really wasn't anything funny but…

"What is?" What's so funny? He couldn't see anything funny with giving away the only memory he had to signify that he achieved his dream- at least, for a month.

"Well… just think. Our marriage is about to be over in about nine more days, and this just came in. What's its use?" Her eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh… Uh, Duo, you told me to remind you to go to AR-074 after your meeting with Taggert."

'She wants it to be over already…' The sad thought left his mind as he faked a smile. "I have it down in my schedule. I'm going to go there after the meeting so by the time you get back here, we'll be like before."

She suddenly couldn't move. Her body felt like lead. It was going to be over soon, and they never really did anything near to being husband and wife.

"You know… I just remembered that Kevin asked me to eat with the men down at the yard."

Hilde nodded as she watched him stand from his chair and brush back his bangs. 

"I'll be back around dinner, k?" He wasn't lying… Kevin did tell him to go, but he said he'd think about it… especially since people had been talking about their arguments… and the future inevitable divorce… He's gonna get it from the guys at the yard, that's for sure.

"Fine. Take your time… and tell the guys hi for me."

With a nod, Duo left. He couldn't take it… His dream was just in front of him and he couldn't even touch it for fear that the bubble might pop right in front of his eyes and he would be left with would be… nothing… Not love, not friendship… 

He closed the door behind him and sighed. He couldn't seduce Hilde because he didn't want to seduce her… He wants her to make her decision with a clear head… She wasn't just another conquest… she was his life.

"And I'm her pal… That's just great." With his lips in a thin line, head down in a dejected manner, Duo pushed his hands inside his pockets, and started walking to that nearby scrap yard where they first started their business… "That's just great…"

****

…

She didn't know how long she stared at the envelope on the table, but her timer finally jarred her back to the present. Absently, she took out her pan then stared at the envelope again. She didn't want to open it… No… What's the use? She'd just mull over it and feel depressed… Better to put it away somewhere.

The attic.

Of course! That's where she could put it… with her parents' old wedding photographs. Not wasting any time, she grabbed the envelope and ran to the end of their hallway, reached up for the cord that hung from the ceiling and pulled. 

The square trap door with foldable steps fell down halfway and dust fell on Hilde.

"Ergh… I guess I'll have to clean that soon…" She patted the dust off her shirt, pulled the last few steps, checked for that one broken step, and, finally, started to climb. Once on top, she searched for the wedding wrapped box where she placed all of her parents' old stuff. She passed a birthday box, a flower box and a nature box before she was able to glimpse the wedding box at the very back, just behind a bunch of newspapers. "Good thing I did this or else," A grunt escaped her as she pulled it out, "I wouldn't be able to find you…"

Hilde dropped to her knees, placed the letter beside her while she opened the box, and then let memories of her deceased parents flit through her mind. Her father died during the war… a colonel in Oz, but he was a nice man… Never cruel or unfair… While her mother was a wonderful nurse.

She pulled out a small, rectangular box and opened it. Her father's stars winked at her from its velvety bed. "I miss you dad…"

Gently, she placed the box beside her then reached inside once again. She pulled out a larger box this time and she knew what was inside… When she opened it, her breath caught in her throat. 

Her mother's wedding gown… So beautifully preserved even after all these years… Beautiful silk and lace… 

__

'You'll grow up to it… then I want you to wear it on your wedding day…'

"Oh mom…" Tears misted her eyes as she touched the dress… Her mom and dad were so much in love… "I don't think I'd ever be able to wear it…" She closed the box and sadly placed it beside her father's stars… Hilde glanced inside and found their photo album. 

With a sigh, she took it out, leaned against the box and started to go through it. Colored pictures of her parents in front of a church… Her dad in his uniform looking tall, handsome, and sharp while her mother looked utterly stunning… And her… what did she get? An informal, cold office with an anorexic looking, hoarse voiced secretary telling them to sign the contract… 

She reached for the unopened letter beside her, then, with another deep sigh, she pressed it within the folds, and closed the album.

What a pathetic life she lives.

"Well… I guess that's it then." She started to put the stuff back into the box, hauled it against the wall once again, and then looked around. "You're all going to get dusted." With her threat against the dust balls and powder still in the air, she started to slowly climb back.

Hilde was halfway down when a click caught her attention. She quickly shifted her attention to the front door, forgot about the broken step, and stepped on it just as Duo came inside.

She tried to hold on to the steps but it was too late. Her knee hit the wood. She fell on the last steps, bashed her back against the concrete, and then found herself on the floor, staring at the opposite side of the wall…

"HILDE!" His heart stopped. His feet grew wings and he was suddenly beside her… on his knees… helplessly looking over her body then at her shocked face. "Hilde? Oh God…" He's so afraid… "Come on, talk to me sweetheart… angel… darling…" He wanted to hold her but he's so afraid… he couldn't think.

Unquenchable pain numbed her. Tears started to flow down her eyes. "It hurts…" It was the only thing she could gasp and she didn't dare move.

"What? Where?" Panicked, Duo reached for her-

"No! Don't… don't touch me… not yet… No… I… Duo… it hurts… Oh God…"

His heart was racing. He couldn't do anything but watch her cry! Dammit! Her face was showing so much pain and he couldn't do anything! "I'm… I'm going to call a doctor and I'm going to be right back, okay?"

Slowly, Hilde nodded. She couldn't be… paralyzed? No… that… that's unthinkable…

She could hear Duo's panicked voice from the living room… in a matter of seconds, he was beside her once again with tissue papers in hand, patting her face dry as gently as he could. 

"They're going to be here soon… do you want water? Anything?"

"Don't leave…" She blinked her eyes to get rid of the tears that burned and saw that Duo's eyes were also wet.

"No… I won't leave… I'm here… I promise…" Nobody would be able to move him away from her… His hand went over hers and felt her cold skin. 'Please God… don't let anything happen to her…' He wouldn't even let himself entertain the thought of Hilde not being able to walk again… No… he kept that away, tucked deep in the recesses of his mind, and chained.

He stayed by her side until the ambulance came. He left the door open when he saw her fall, so he didn't even bother to tell them to come in… He explained what happened and they slowly moved her. It was funny how they were able to keep their anger while he kept on pestering them to move Hilde 'gently!' over and over again. In no time at all, they had a brace around her and was pushing her into the back of the ambulance.

"What are you going to do?" He sat beside one of them while he held Hilde's hand. She was still so pale…

"We're going to scan her first, sir… We don't know what's wrong. It could be nothing… it could be something… bad…"

Duo nodded. Yes… of course… x-rays… scans… He leaned down and kissed Hilde's hand. "You're going to be okay…" 

He saw her nod even while her eyes held doubt and Duo looked away… Everything reminded him too much of that time when… she nearly died… If he hadn't reached her… If he hadn't come home early… or maybe this was also his fault… She became a rebel because of him… she fell because he distracted her… because he forgot to repair those damn stairs… "I'm so sorry, Hilde… God… I'm so sorry…" Tears trailed down his cheeks and onto her hands. 

Hilde moved her hand. "It's not your fault. I was stupid."

"You're never stupid." Duo whispered as he looked back at her face and saw those tears fall. "Never say that because you have never been stupid…"

She looked away. 'Yes… I am… You just don't know how much…'

****

…

He couldn't stand still… How long have they been in that room? Hours? He checked his watch and saw that … "Dammit!" Duo pushed his hand through his hair once again as he paced to and fro.

The door opened and he quickly turned, anxious to hear the news but he didn't need to as he saw Hilde being wheeled by the doctor… Her eyes met his… then she smiled… She smiled that beautiful, wonderful smile of hers.

Relief nearly crushed him like a giant tidal wave and he wanted to dance, cry, and laugh at the same time… Instead, he only stared at her and swallowed his tears…

"Mr. Maxwell, Ms. Schebecker is just fine…" 

It was a greeting that gave Duo unbounded relief.

"She had a nasty fall that resulted in sprain and strain of her lower lumbar region. So, let her stay off her feet for a few days. Other than that, a sprained ankle, and a bad wound on her knee, she told me that she's ready to go home."

He wasn't even listening to the doctor- well, maybe half listening… But his eyes were greedy for only Hilde and his hands only wanted to touch her… And touch her, he did… He kneeled in front of her and took her hands into his. "You scared me back there…"

"I was scared, too…" Hilde whispered. Her Duo… scared… Her Duo… never left her side… Could she be happier? Yes. But for now, this was enough.

"I know…" 

"Mr. Maxwell, I just want you to do a few things…"

Duo glanced at the doctor and nodded. "Give it to me, doc, and I'll make sure she gets it." He'll make sure of it!

"She needs to get that wound cleaned everyday, don't let her do anything that could strain her back, and she needs someone to massage her back- especially her lower back- twice a day for about three or four days. It should be an outward, circular motion. Uh… Do you know how to massage?"

Duo nodded absently and answered before he could think. "I'll do it." Suddenly, the weight of what the doctor just ordered seeped into Duo… Slowly, he looked up at Hilde and saw a blush on her cheeks… 'Massage…' The image of her beautiful back appeared in his mind… She probably feels embarrassed that he's going to do it for her… but she needs it… and if she's embarrassed, she would be tense and… she shouldn't be tense. Against his will, Duo chucked her chin softly. "Don't worry, pal… I'll take care of you." He hid a grimace and stood up too hastily that he never saw Hilde's pained expression.

'Pal…' There's that damn word again… Everything was going just great and he just had to say that damn word…

"One more thing," The doctor took out a pen and paper, scribbled something really quick, tore it and gave it to Duo. "If she's in pain, give her just one of these."

"Got it." Duo took the paper. The doctor stepped away from behind Hilde and he took over. "Ready to go home, angel?"

Hilde nodded. "Ready."

****

…

"Duo, really… Just push the wheelchair near my bed and I'll tuck myself in…"

He shook his head. "No." Duo pulled the sheets back on her neat bed and made sure everything was okay.

"Duo-"

"Hilde, which part of 'no' don't you understand?!" He knew that would shut her up. Her mouth opened and closed… gave him a glare then crossed her arms over her chest in a sign of defiance. He stifled a grin. "C'mon, angel, be good and put your arms around my neck."

Her eyebrow nearly shot up. That wasn't such a bad idea… She might not let go of him but darn that order was going to put her in his arms. Feigning indifference, she uncrossed her arms and reached up just as Duo leaned forward. She locked her hands behind his neck and he gently picked her up.

"Dear Lord! I need to put some weight in you!" He silently cursed himself that he never even noticed how thin she was!

"Hey! I weigh enough!"

"No you don't." Tenderly, he laid her on the bed. He's so happy that… that she's all right.

"Oh…. Shut up."

His grin widened when she pouted and crossed her arms over her chest once again. She just looked so adorable! "Wait in here," He tucked her in. "I'll make dinner."

"What else could I do? You won't let me move a muscle!" Not that she didn't like the way he was doting after her… it's just that she might get used to it too much.

"Good. I'm glad you understand." He had been trying to be the cheerful pal for the past hour but right now, as she lay on her bed with fire in her eyes… he couldn't help but brush back some of her midnight blue bangs and be thankful. I love you… "I'm so glad nothing really bad happened…" He leaned down to her face, tempted to kiss her on the mouth. 

Hilde's eyes widened in surprise and she forgot to breathe. 

He changed his path at the last moment and kissed her on the cheek instead. Then he quickly straightened and walked out of the room before he had a chance to forget his control and do something stupid. He hesitated by her door, shrugged then just left it slightly ajar just in case she called. 'Man oh man… that was one helluva ride to insanity…' 

Her hand went to her cheek to touch it… Of course he wasn't going to kiss her on the lips! She's his pal, for Pete's sake! But… she wanted him too… Everything that happened during the accident, she couldn't really remember, except that Duo was there, holding her hand.

****

…

"How was dinner?" Duo came back with a glass of water and her medicine. She was grimacing a little while ago, so he asked if her back was aching, and it was.

"Aside from the fact that you didn't have to spoon feed me since I could move my hands, and that I don't have a cold yet you still gave me chicken noodles out of the can..." She needs the sarcasm if she's ever going to get through this ordeal. "It was fine."

Duo just smiled. She looked mad as hell, but that's probably 'coz she's not used to being taken cared of… She's used to taking care of other people, but not herself. His Hilde… and right now… he's having a helluva time trying to keep his senses in tact while his imagination was going wild at the fact that he's about to give her a back rub.

"All right… Here's your medicine. Drink up." He offered the pill and glass of water. Hilde instantly grimaced before she drank it. 

"I hate medicine!"

Laughter boomed out of Duo. "I know!"

She stuck out her tongue at him and he laughed some more to ease his nervousness. "Okay, angel… turn around and let me do my job."

'Oh God he's going to do it!' She swallowed. "Uh… You really don't-"

"The doctor told me to do it, and I'm going to do it. Now turn around."

She looked at his stern face. The concern in his eyes and the knowledge that he was right made her sigh. "Fine." She turned over, laid her hands on her pillow and propped her chin. "There… happy?"

No. "Yes." She had changed into her pajamas- thankfully, not her nightgown. "Okay, let's try this and tell me if it hurts, or if it feels bad, or something, k?"

Hilde nodded while she willed her body to relax. At the first feel of pressure at the base of her neck, she bit her lip. He has great hands… applying pressure here and there, molding, flattening, crushing- "Ouch!"

"What?! What?! Where?!" Duo instantly took his hands off her, and another wave of concern suffocated him.

Should she keep her mouth shut?

"Hilde… What did I do wrong?" Stupid, stupid hands… Clumsy oaf… 

"No… not you…" If he could see her face right now… she's as red as… radish skin! "Uhm… my… er…"

"Just say it." Duo goaded, still afraid to touch her. He was trying so hard not to lose himself while he rubbed her back… she seemed so fragile as he felt her bones under her cotton-

"Well, my blouse just rubbed against my skin in a bad way… It almost felt like a burn." She buried her face against her pillow. "I'm sorry… I'm being such a pain."

Duo swallowed- hard. Okay… _that_ only leaves him one more thing to do… He has to massage her without her blouse… He closed his eyes as he felt his damn _thing_ rise… "No… you're not a pain…" He quickly stood up. "Tell you what… I'm going to get some oil… you stay put."

Hilde could only nod. Oh the embarrassment… and later on… pleasure and pain…

Duo ran to the refrigerator, opened it, and grabbed his coldest beer bottle then he walked to their medicine cabinet and took some headache reliever. His head was pounding… No wonder! Blood was rushing into his head at the mere thought of Hilde's bare back!

He sat down on their kitchen chair and- if anyone saw him now he'd be so embarrassed- pressed the cold bottle between his thighs. He welcomed the chill that helped his temperature go down and then swallowed two pills. He's more aware of her now than ever before and it's killing him… 

"Duo… you know, just forget it…"

Hilde's voice came from her room, soft and anxious. Duo quickly shook his head, tempted not to do it but he also wanted to do it… "No… I just can't find the oil… Just give me a few more minutes." Well… he can't find the oil because he had not started looking, so… he wasn't exactly lying… 

From within her room Hilde sighed… Well… nobody could say that she didn't try to talk him out of it.

Duo stood, after a couple of minutes, thanked the beer silently and went off in search of the dreaded oil… It wasn't a long search- the darn oil didn't hide itself well enough- but better get it over with.

"Hilde? I found the oil." 

She turned to face him just as he was about to enter her room and falteringly smiled. "Thanks Duo… I mean…" She had been doing a lot of thinking over the span of those few minutes when she was alone, and she knew that she had been acting like a total… well… "I had been acting like a spoiled brat. I haven't told you how much I really appreciate what you've done… You were there for me… cooked my food, even bought it to my bed, and well… you know… just looking after me."

A soft smile appeared on his face as he sat beside her. His previous sexual height turned into the want- the need to protect her and take care of her at all cost. "Hey, it's cool… don't worry, I don't mind… besides, you'd do the same thing for me." He started to pour the oil on his palm. "Now, relax… and just tell me when it hurts, okay?"

Once again, Hilde nodded as she returned to her original position. 

"I'm going to go under your blouse now." He knew he had to tell her what he was going to do or else… she might grow tense again.

Hilde could only mutter an affirmative as she steeled herself from his touch. She felt the edge of her blouse lifted up, then… his wonderful, gentle, slightly rough hands… Ecstasy rippled through her body and… the funny thing was… she didn't feel tense at all! It was as if his hands were supposed to be doing what they were doing… it was as if it belonged there and she was welcoming him home…

The slight purr of pleasure that came from her made him smile. He was more relaxed right now than he had ever expected to be… Oh sure, he was aroused, but… it was something different… gentle, soft and sweet… just like Hilde… and he didn't want to rush… "Is this fine?"

Heavenly! "Yes…"

"I'm going down your spine right now." He felt her take in a breath, then a soft giggle. "Sorry… didn't mean it." He had accidentally brushed his fingers on her ribs. God but that felt great!

"No, it's okay…" She was feeling so… cozy… near to… sleep…

"Lower back time…" He tensed a bit, and felt a stir in his libido as his hands went to that curving dip.

Hilde's eyes widened and she gasped more in pleasure than pain. Ah bliss!

Duo lightened his touch. "I'm sorry." Damn! He wants to kiss that dip…

"No… I was just surprised… Do it like before… please…"

He nodded even when she couldn't see, he caught her hips, and started to rub with his thumbs. He heard her sigh and felt deep satisfaction… slowly, his hands traveled up where he started once again. He could feel her grow more unwind… more lax… 

Duo leaned over and saw that her eyes were closed… Sleeping. His angel… With a sigh of regret, he pulled his hands out of her blouse and pulled it down. Then, he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, Hilde…"

****

…

She woke up to the sounds of… hammering…?

God! She feels so… wonderful… 

For a moment, she hugged herself then she sat up and slowly walked to her wheelchair. Ingrained habit made her go to the bathroom, wash her face and brush her teeth before she wheeled out of her room and saw Duo, fixing the damnable stairs.

"Good morning."

Duo stopped in mid-strike and looked before he quickly swiveled around. "Hey!" A wide grin lighted his face. He woke up bright and early… cheerful and slightly relaxed. "Good morning to you, too, sleepyhead."

Hilde laughed. "You know, that's usually your title."

"Yep, I know." He dropped the hammer into the toolbox and walked to her. He resisted the urge to kiss her and started to wheel her into the living room. "Breakfast is ready. And I'll just give that nail one more strike then I'll join you."

"Okay." When he didn't take the right turn into their kitchen, she placed a stopping hand on her wheels. "Hey, Duo, the kitchen is on the other side."

Duo patted her hand away and started to move again. "You're going to eat over there. The kitchen table is too high." He stopped just beside their coffee table, in the middle of the living room set, and she saw a small daisy in a flower vase and her food…

"Oh yum!" Her stomach growled at the hash browns and pancakes dripping with syrup and butter.

"Yep. You can dig in if you want." He didn't look at her shaking head as he placed a table napkin on her lap.

With a quick pout, Hilde shrugged. "Nah… I'll wait for the chef to eat with me."

"Okidoki. Be back in a sec." He quickly ran back to the stairs and Hilde heard a loud bang then he was in front of her…

"Well… that was really just one more blow…"

Duo grinned. "Yep! Just wanted to be sure it was fixed. I don't want you getting hurt again."

"Aw… thanks Duo." She was so touched! Who wouldn't be? Hilde leaned down to get her plate but Duo was quickly beside her, with a table rack, had it on her lap before she could even gasp out- 'what?!'

"Are you comfortable? Do you need pillows?" Duo started fussing around her, arranging her napkin, making sure the portable table was secure-

Hilde caught his hands and stilled them. "Duo, really… I'm okay." 

"Are you sure?" He looked into her eyes and saw their usual sparkle. 

"I'm sure." She squeezed his hand lightly and Duo smiled.

"All right… Uhm… Good… let's eat."

"Or like you always say-" Hilde stacked all three of her pancakes together and then cut a triangular pattern. Duo looked at her expectantly, saw her smother the pancake with more syrup then, still dripping, she brought it to her lips. "Dig in!"

Duo laughed wholeheartedly. Yep! That's his Hilde! "By the way, I called Greg to tell him to take over the office for tomorrow and the day after."

Hilde nearly choked on her pancakes. "WHAT?!"

He let her drink her juice before he continued. "The doctor said that you should be off your feet for at least a couple of days. You know that the office is stable enough to survive two months without us- eight months with long distance directions, and… uh… I can't remember the other things but the fact is we made it that stable, and I'm happy for that."

They did… but… "My projects… the contracts… my calls-"

"Are all going to be taken cared of. Now, shut up and eat." His eyebrow shot up in a dare when Hilde opened her lips to retort. 

She closed it and sighed. "Well… I guess that's it…" She's going to have at least one more day of vacation… Hmm… "You think we could go watch a movie?"

Duo grinned. God he loves her! "Anything you want to do, angel." Anything at all.

'Marry me.' Hilde grinned. "Great! This is delicious, by the way…"

"Glad you like it. And I'm going to clean up that wound afterwards." Duo spoke with his mouth full and Hilde laughed.

"No. Don't worry about it. I can do it myself." The back massage, on the other hand… You can do any time…

"Will you stop doing that? I'm not going to volunteer for something I don't wanna do, so hush!" His voice wasn't that harsh… just slightly angry because she's trying to act so independently when, at the moment, she wasn't!

Hilde blinked a couple of times, surprised at his reaction. Well… if he felt like that… "I'm sorry." 

Duo quickly shook his head. "Stop it with the 'I'm sorrys'"

"Alright! I'm sorry!" Hilde quickly placed her hand over her mouth as Duo glared at her. "Sorry."

"Gah!" Duo growled and Hilde chuckled. She quickly placed a large piece of pancake in her mouth before she could utter that word again.

After glaring at her a little more while she chewed, he finally nodded his approval and grinned. "That's better."

Hilde's shoulders rocked with controlled laughter as she finished her food. Her eyes were focused only on her plate because she just might- just might- laugh hysterically if she looked at Duo right now… and if she does that, she'll spill her food. She swallowed too fast and almost choked. "There. Finished."

"Good." He took the tray from her lap before she could move. "I'm going to get those antiseptics, so stay put."

"Is this the part where I say- 'Yeeessss Master…'?" Hilde cried out after him. Her response was Duo's booming laugh that lifted her heart.

"No way! That's mine! You pick your own movie line!" He came back with a bag of cotton balls and buds, a box of band-aids, and two bottles. "So, angel, ready for pain?"

Hilde grimaced as she warily eyed those dark brown bottles. "You have to ask?"

"Never hurts." He kneeled in front of Hilde after he pushed the table away. "You gonna pull that pant leg up or are you gonna let me tear it up?"

The mischievous grin on his face made her stick out her tongue. "No way! This is my favorite pajamies!"

'I wonder if anyone else in the world is like us…' Duo's eyebrow rose. "I don't care if it's your _pajamies_, I'm gonna tear it if you don't pull it up and show me your wound!"

Hilde shook her head playfully. She hates medicines. Duo knows that, but she was also just playing… 

"One…"

Duo's stern face belied the gleam of mischief in his eyes and Hilde just shook her head.

"Two…"

She pouted and Duo's hands wiggled dangerously.

"Thr-"

"Okay!" Hilde pulled her right pant leg up with a lighthearted glare. "Fine! Happy?!"

"Very." Duo checked the gauze and hid a grimace as he remembered yesterday. "This might hurt…"

Hilde closed her eyes and tilted her head away while she tensed her muscles. "I know. Do it and get it over with."

"All right…" As gently as he could, Duo pulled the tapes with the gauze and his heart went out for Hilde when he saw the huge wound on her knee. "Okay, Hilde… I'm going to start swabbing it." He glanced up only to see if she would nod, and she did.

He checked the wound again with that slight red-blue around it… "I don't think we need that other thing… maybe just this one bottle… they already cleaned your wound at the hospital, after all."

At that announcement, Hilde's eyes opened and a smile lighted her face. "Really?! Good…" A sigh of relief left her. "That's good… that other one doesn't sting…"

Duo nodded, his face the very essence of control as he poured some of the medicine over a ball of cotton. "Ready?" He looked up and Hilde while she looked down at him with her lower lip caught between her teeth. She nodded then closed her eyes.

He could feel her muscles grow tense as he touched her knee then he lightly patted her wound. Slowly, she started to relax.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Duo whispered as he leaned down and softly blew on the wound.

Hilde's eyes widened. Her hands grew cold and her lips trembled as she looked down at the top of his head... "N-no… not bad at all…"

At that moment, Duo looked up… Their eyes met… The air around them sizzled with unsurpassed passions that were being controlled… Everything just froze for them… no sounds… no sunshine except for the glow in each other's eyes as they slowly started to move toward each other… not able to fight whatever force was pulling them…

Her lips were a breath away and he could almost taste her-

Hilde jumped in her seat and Duo fell on his buttocks at the sudden loud banging knock that came from their door.

"Wha-what?!" Duo cried out while Hilde's right hand went to the base of her throat and their eyes riveted to the door, fire in their eyes for being disturbed.

"Yo Duo! It's the gang!!!"

The gang… the men… He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Uh… Hmm… I think I better go get that…"

Hilde nodded. "Yes… I think you should…" They looked at each other once again then with a sigh of frustration, Duo pulled himself up and walked to the door to open it.

"Hey Duo. We heard what happened to Hilde."

Sounds of greetings by both low voiced men and worried women reached Hilde's ears and she turned the wheelchair around to face her friends… her wonderful extended family… Too bad they just ruined a chance… Well… nothing to do but say- "Hey guys! Come in!"

As subtle as he could, Duo pounded his head against the door to- 'Wake up… wake up… wake up…!'

_Authoress_: [ Heartfire][1]

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	9. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 9

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life -  


Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Nine   
By Heartfire **

~*~ 

"Are you sure you've got everything? Your pain killers… passport…" 

"Yes. Everything's with me." Hilde nodded as she looked at Duo's inquiring face. Not that she needs those painkillers. "I've traveled before, you know."

"Okay… okay… that's good… And you're coming back at 12:45 pm on the 3Oth, right?"

"Right." She nodded once again and inserted her hands into her coat pockets. "And your schedule is," She started listing it. "Flight out, day after tomorrow and return flight on the 29th at 6 pm."

"Right. Right…" Duo nodded… Why was it so awkward?! He told her not to go, but she insisted… He didn't want her to go… but she got her way… He's gonna miss those backrubs… He had actually given her a massage every single night until last night just because when he asked her if she was all right, if her back was fine, he hoped that it still felt cramped so that he would be able to touch her, and he had been in a plane of bliss every time she shook her head and told him- 'It still aches a bit'…

Hilde felt the ring with her thumb and bit her inner cheek. They're going to be official unmarried in about six days… funny… she never realized that everything happened at the beginning of this month… Oh, she doesn't want to let go of the ring but… She faked a surprised look. "Oh! Oh Duo, here. I almost forgot!" Hilde took out her left hand and pulled out the ring. 

What could he do but to hold out his hand while she dropped the ring into his cupped palm?! He closed his fingers over the ring while a detached sensation filled his heart… This was so wrong… the ring was for her.

"So… You knock 'em dead, Hilde." It was a miracle he could still talk… the way a lump had somehow gotten in his throat…

"Of course. And you told me to… to remind you that…" She breathed in deeply to calm her suddenly constricting chest. "You're going to pass by that office after Taggert's meeting."

"Yep. Just to make sure that she filed our papers correctly." Duo nodded. He checked behind her and saw the people start to move. "Your shuttle is leaving."

"Hmm…" She turned slightly and grimaced before she faced Duo. "Right. I guess that's my cue to leave." She shifted her weight to her other foot then straightened her back. They've done this before… what's so different?! "Good bye, Duo."

"See you in six days, Hilde." Duo whispered while he tried a smile that came out lopsided.

With a nod, Hilde turned away and started to walk to the entrance.

"Hey! Don't forget to get someone to carry your bags for you! I already told the attendants about your back!" Duo cried out just as she reached the entrance.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Hilde nodded and flashed him a smile. "I won't!" It really was nice to have someone you love be so concerned about your safety…

He watched her enter the gate and then disappear into the crowd… He never opened his lips to say those three words even if he had wanted to… He opened his hand and the golden ring glinted at him brazenly… Well, at least he knows that she's going to come home to him.

With a sigh, Duo pushed his hands into his trouser pockets, slumped his shoulders and walked out of the airport with a heavy heart…

****

…

She's lost… She's so lost! Oh it would be so much more easier if she would call for a cab and just give driver the address, but no… she wanted to experience treasure hunting- and the treasure? Boutiques that her friends told her would have great deals. 

"'Hartwater has a lot of great deals! You should go here.'" Hilde mimicked her friend's voice in frustration. It was just a good thing that she had already checked in and the first meeting would not be for another four hours! Ah! To have everything paid for in a first class hotel… The only one missing was someone to hold to-

Hilde stopped when she saw a young boy aggressively knocked down a child on the street who was just staring at the back shop's glass, and then ran away.

"THIEF! STOP! STOP HIM!"

The shouts from the corner of the street caught her attention. Men in dark business suits pointed at the little boy, the same height, and almost the same clothes, as the one who had pushed him! She could see terror and so much fright on the pale boy's face as he scrambled to stand up and start to run… run to her direction.

She was always a sucker for a lost cause. Probably because she had seen enough, and had helped enough at the junkyard… Hilde held out her hand the moment the little boy was close enough and grabbed his collar. "Hey. Stop."

"Lemme go! I didn't do anything! Lemme go!"

Hilde placed both her hands on the little boy's shoulders and felt how thin he was. Pity flowed out of her heart. "Shhh! It's okay. I saw. Stop struggling and I'll help you!"

The little boy stopped and looked up, his face hopeful. "You saw?"

"BOY! YOU!"

The little boy instantly went behind Hilde and grabbed her legs while Hilde looked up and glared at the well-dressed men. "He's not the one you want."

"Get out of the way, lady." The four, tall and burly men stopped in front of her. 

Their high, commanding voices made her blood boil. The way they looked down on their noses… "I won't. You're not going to lay a finger on him."

"I said get out of the way." The one in the middle took a menacing step forward.

Hilde's eyes slanted while the little boy held on to one of her legs tighter than before. "Make me." It gave her a good feeling when the four looked at each other at a loss, but they wanted something bad and they were going to get it.

She positioned her legs to get ready to fight, not that she was that good, she'd rather be in a mobile suit but… she had enough training with the boys back home.

"Have you caught him?"

A clear, resonant voice that spoke of power came from behind the four men and they instantly parted. Hilde's eyes fell upon a man… her age…. Tall, good looking, and well dressed- like the others… but the look of smugness in his eyes pulled the wrong strings in her.

"Sir. Just about."

"No they didn't. They let the boy escape." Hilde retorted while her hand went around the little boy's shoulder.

The man took in Hilde's appearance. Either she was a bystander, or she's the boy's mother… then again, the quality of her clothing was ten times that of the little boy. Why wasn't she hesitant to hug that urchin when his clothes would ruin her white, designer pants and shirt? He looked into rare, defiant, midnight blue eyes and found an appealing face… beautiful, actually… So much passion and fire… 

"What happened?"

Before either of his men could react, Hilde spoke. "Your men- I am assuming that these blockheads are your men- mistook this little boy as their thief."

"I did not ask for your answer, miss." Her eyes flared once again… Dark blue flames that brought a hint of fiery rose on her cheeks… 

"I made it my point to answer because your men will obviously feed you a lie."

"Can you prove your point?" He crossed his arms over his chest and challenged her with a look.

"Fine." Hilde turned away from those disgusting, power consumed men and faced the shaking boy. "Hey there little fella…"

He was surprised at how soft her voice could be… 

"What's your name?"

The little boy looked from Hilde's encouraging smile, to the poker faced men, then back at her. "R-Rob…"

"Rob. That's a nice name."

He could see it… She was wielding a web of comfort around this boy… 'Very good…'

"Would you mind if you take off your coat and pull out your pockets, just to show these men that you're not the one they're looking for?"

Rob shook his head and slowly did as he was told. Hilde took the ragged coat into her hands, faced the men and shook it in front of them. Then she turned out the obviously hand sewn pockets. "Nothing here, or in his pant's pockets. I'm pretty sure that, given how thin his clothes are, you can see for yourselves that there are no bulks to hide evidence of a wallet."

The man slowly nodded, intrigued and fascinated by this woman, but at the moment- he pushed the two nearest to him in front. "Go after the right boy!"

Hilde gave a satisfied smile while she helped Rob into his thin coat. She saw how he had looked at that bakery just a little while ago. "You've been a good boy, Rob. How about I buy you a small treat from the bakery?"

The thankful glimmer in the child's brown eyes was enough for Hilde as she took the boy's hand into her own, stood, and then started to walk past the last three guys-

"Excuse me."

Hilde stopped as she felt that man's hand grab her upper arm. She looked from his hand to his face and knew that he didn't even know she resented that he had touched her.

"What is your name?"

She shook her arm away from his and took a step away. "My name is for me to give away. But I'll give you something else." She gave a withering look to each of them. "An advice. Your men needs to learn discipline and how to respect people…" Her eyes settled on the man who had touched her. "So do you." Men like these make her blood boil! "Come on, Rob."

The man's eyes followed her. Nobody… no one had ever treated him in such a… a… disrespectful way before… But coming from this fragile looking lady, it didn't matter to him… "Follow her. I want to know who she is, where she lives, what she's doing here in Hartwater, and everything else."

"Yes sir."

That woman had pricked his interest more than anyone had ever done before… They followed the cab she hailed with Rob, carrying an overflowing bag of treats, stopped a street away when the cab pulled up at one of Hartwater's- in his opinion - disgusting streets and watched when she gave- possibly Rob's grandmother or mother- money… 

"She's an intriguing woman…"

****

…

"Oh! Stop! Stop over here, please. Thank you!" Hilde paid the man, got out of the taxi, and stood in front of one of the boutiques on the street. The dress at the window had caught her attention. It looked exotic… Midnight blue… two piece dress… the skirt hung low on the waist… 

"Perfect!" Perfect for Relena! It was just the right size… the color would make Relena's eyes more mysterious… They had teased each other about which dresses they would like to wear to seduce their man, and she promised her friend that she would buy her one very, very alluring dress… 'Heero will go mad when he sees her in this outfit… Let's see him try to take his hands off her with this… that is… if he's ever going to show up.'

****

…

With the box under her arm, she entered her hotel, instantly sauntered to the counter for messages, and smiled happily when the man gave her a slip of paper.

"I'm glad you got there safely… I'll call you later around- Nine, Hartwater time.

- Duo"

She nearly kissed the paper! He didn't have to call her… but he's going to! "Thank you!" She needs to get ready for that meeting! With a joyous wave to the clerk, she walked to the elevator, too happy to notice the man with bodyguards who took her previous position by the counter.

"Good afternoon Mr. Morley!"

Lawrence Morley nodded. "That woman you just talked to. Who is she?"

"Ms. Schebecker? She's one of your guests, sir."

'Schebecker… Schebecker…' He snapped his fingers and the one on his right moved forward.

"MS Industries, sir."

Lawrence nodded, his face a mask of interest. He took a bill from his pocket and passed it on to the clerk. "Send two dozen red roses to Ms. Schebecker's room."

The clerk nodded. "Er… yes sir."

He turned away. "Maybe its time I revisit MS Industries' records."

****

…

She just got out of the bathroom when her bell rang. With a frown, Hilde made sure her robe was tightly tied, then walked to the door. She blinked in bewilderment when her eyes fell on a vase full of red roses.

"From Mr. Morley, Ms. Schebecker."

The voice came from behind, a face she couldn't see. "Well… uh… thank you. Come on in." She opened the door wider for the teen to come in. "What a wonderful host! Imagine! Sending a dozen roses to his guests."

"This is two dozen, Ma'am."

"Two?!" Her gaze riveted back to the roses and she shook her head. Arche must have an endless supply of money… She walked to her purse and pulled out a bill but when she tried to offer it to the teen, he shook his head.

"No ma'am. Mr. Morley had asked the staff not to accept any tips from his guests."

"Er… how about a thank you?" Hilde suggested with a small smile. 

The young man grinned back. "My pleasure, ma'am."

She closed the door behind the teen then back at the roses. Why does she have this distinct feeling that… she's missing a point… somewhere…?

****

…

Butterflies flew circles in her stomach… endless… millions of fluttering wings… 

'I don't want to go in…' 

She could hear the murmur of conversations from within the double doors… Forty of the best companies both from Earth and the colonies… All to compete just for Arche… 'I don't think I can do this…'

Her body did a full one hundred eighty degree turn then she stopped… She didn't even give it a try… It would be total humiliation for MS Industries… She wouldn't be able to live with herself… What would Duo think of her?!

With a groan, Hilde faced the double white doors once again and slowly entered. A mass of people met her eyes… They were all in classy, starched business wears… 'Thank God I got a new wardrobe!' She tried to look as if she was supposed to be there, it was the only way to look confident enough. 

What she didn't know was she did her act beautifully that she caught an appreciative brown-eyed man's interest as soon as he laid eyes on her… She was wearing black sandals and a black, one-piece pantsuit with a fashionable cream blouse… light make up… Her hair looked sporty but combed back in a way that was just as classy as long, waist length hair…

Her eyes took in the decorations inside the huge room. There were enough chairs on the other side, a glass wall that was obviously not part of the room… a fireplace in one wall, and swords in an x just above an emblem shield of- probably- Arche's, and by the door's wall, a large buffet table.

'Drink… have a drink in your hand…' Tips from classes in business etiquette, proper manners, confidence, and etcetera zoomed through her mind. 'I'm going to be just fine… Oh Duo! Why aren't you here?!'

"It's time." Lawrence whispered just loud enough for his men to hear and they dispersed to guard the doors. "May I have everyone's attention, please."

His voice was clear and strong, and rang above the merry conversation. Everyone turned to face him, the man behind the podium, and Hilde nearly dropped her glass. 'Him?! What is he doing…' Her eyes quickly glanced around and she saw the previous men she met, along with a few others.

"Welcome, honored guests. My name is Lawrence Morley of the Arche government…"

'Lawrence Morley…' Hilde tried her best not to show her surprise. 'I went head-to-head with Lawrence Morley?!' The event that afternoon flashed in front of her eyes. 'Dear Lord! It's going to take a miracle to make him listen to me now!' With a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach, and a heavy heart, she followed the milling crowd to the chairs. She did the right thing… but who wouldn't feel even the slightest embarrassment at this situation?! She raised her voice at him, insulted him, and his men… what else? 'Schebecker, you did it now…'

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that when she stood up after the long speech, she didn't notice Mr. Morley, himself, had reached her and was walking beside her.

"Have you received the flowers, Ms. Schebecker?"

She nearly jumped! How she was able to calmly turn to him, she did not know! "Mr. Morley."

He smiled his best. "Lawrence, please."

Why did it feel as if a snake was about to strike? Hilde swallowed and checked the thin, leaving crowd. She's going to be alone with this creep, who makes her skin crawl if she doesn't get out of this room soon! "I received the flowers this afternoon. It was very hospitable of you to send flowers to your guests on their first day of stay."

Lawrence stilled in mid step at what she said then he shook his head and laughed. "That is very funny, Hilde. Very funny indeed." Brains, humor and looks… does he need to look somewhere else? 

'I didn't even give you permission to use my name, buster…' Her train of thought stopped and Hilde frowned and she tried to understand… Her eyes widened. 'Oh dear…'

"Have dinner with me tonight."

He was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way to the door… his face so near to her own…

"Excuse me?!" She quickly stepped back before he could get any nearer.

"Dinner… your suite or mine?"

Her jaw nearly fell in shock! Anger threatened to snap her patience… yet, she must keep in mind that this was Morley… Though hell will freeze first before she goes out with this… jerk! To even suggest dinner…! "No one's. Thank you for the flowers, but no thanks to dinner." Before he could stop her again, Hilde side stepped him and walked out of the door as fast as her feet could carry her!

Lawrence followed her graceful walk with a possessive look in his eyes. He finally hand picked the woman he wants, and he will get her… "I always get what I want."

****

…

Her hands grasped the phone as soon as she heard that wonderful ringing sound. It's just so sad that this hotel chose antique phones… She wouldn't be able to see Duo's face… "Duo?"

"Hey, Angel." From the other side of the receiver, Duo smiled like a silly boy. "How are you doin'? Is your back fine?"

Hilde sat down beside the table and brought her feet up to the couch's backrest. "The day has been… fine... I saw a dress for Relena! I'm betting that any man who'll see her in it, wouldn't be able to look away."

Duo nodded absently. Whatever it was she said, he didn't care, just so long as he could hear her voice. "Really… that's good. Your back?"

"Uhmmm… aching a bit…" Not really… she just misses his massage… The cramping pains stopped four days earlier, but she couldn't help but play as if it still hurt just so he would touch her and do his magic over her back.

Concern zinged through Duo and he grabbed the cord. "Are you okay? Did you take your pills?"

"I'm fine, Duo. Just fine."

"Okay… if you say so…" His voice sounded doubtful. He was just worried. "Anything else happened?" 

Her thoughts went to Morley and she grimaced. Now she's happy he wouldn't be able to see her face. "Er… nothing too exciting. Say, how's Melly coming along? Isn't her baby due this week or… was it next?"

"Next." Duo placed his hand under his head and burrowed deeper into the sofa. "You are going to make it, right? I mean, she wants you to be little Nora's godmother."

"I'll make it. Make sure you do, too, godfather."

They talked for hours over the phone… Morley forgotten… factory problems at the back of Duo's head… and by the time they hung up… Duo pulled a throw pillow over his chest and hugged it while Hilde curled on the couch to sleep, with a smile on her face.

_Authoress: [Heartfire][1]_

   [1]: mailto:heartchime@hotmail.com



	10. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 10

- Chimera of Life - **

- Chimera of Life - 

  
Story One: Mutual Conquest   
Chapter Ten   
By Heartfire **

~*~

Ohhh…! She could punch someone's nose right now. What a great way to start a day… Just great! Nine o'clock and already seething mad!

Hilde punched the down button of the elevator instead, while her other hand opened and closed. She started her day right- with a smile, with Duo in her mind, and then _he_- that stupid Morley!- just had to call her and suggest that she _eat _breakfast _with_ _him_ in _his suite_! 

"No way. Not this girl, Lawrence." Why'd he suddenly started picking on her, anyway?! It's not as if I'm beautiful. Nice, maybe, but not beautiful. "Dammit! There were more beautiful girls in that room last night! Why me?!"

The elevator door opened and she stepped in, thankful that no one was inside. She wanted to get out of her room just in case that Morley comes by in person! The… the…

"Asshole." Hilde's eyes widened and she gasped right after. "Oh Duo! Look what you've made me do!" Waitaminute… What was she complaining about?! Lawrence Morley was- is!- an asshole. One would have expected that he- the great Arche representative- would have manners and respect! But no! Not _that_ person! He just had to suggest dinner at his suite and then breakfast!

She eyed her doorway to freedom. Escape! That is… escape until this afternoon's meeting. Ah well… she'll worry about that later. She was halfway there when an argument caught her attention.

"No! You don't understand! I had a room reserved in this hotel! I did it two weeks ago! My husband is supposed to meet me here!"

Hilde stopped and turned to the frantic voice.

"Ma'am, your name is not on the list."

"It can't be! I distinctly remember reserving a room and I even talked to one of your staff!"

Hilde took in the redhead's single luggage, baggy dress- oh! 'She's pregnant!' A beautiful visible hump! Once again, she couldn't stop herself as she walked to the registration counter to help.

"Good morning," She quickly checked his tag, "Clive. What's the problem?"

"Oh… no problem at all ma'am-"

"What do you mean no problem?! I spent six hours to get to this place!"

Hilde grinned. Serves Clive right. Hilde faced the woman, her face schooled in a mildly interested, yet concerned, look. "Ma'am, calm down. You don't want to suddenly give birth to your baby, now do you?"

"Oh!" The woman's angry face disappeared as she looked down and touched her swollen womb. "Of course."

"How far along?" She always had a soft spot for babies, both born and to be born.

All her previous anger disappeared as she smiled down at her unborn child. "Eight months. It's a he. Kevin, my husband, he's so proud…"

The smile on the woman's face showed that of one in love, and pride, that Hilde felt a bit envious. "I'm sure he is." Suddenly, she had a brainstorm… It just might work… "Clive, are you sure there aren't any more rooms?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry ma'am. The hotel is very full. We usually have a room to spare, but for this week? Nothing."

Hilde nodded. "Oh… I see… Wasn't it that this colony experienced some electrical trouble about… oh, two weeks ago?"

Clive blushed. "Er… yes, ma'am."

She's got him cornered. From the tip of her eyes, she could see the pregnant woman's surprise. "Would you agree that the power shortage was the reason for this woman's missing reservation?"

Clive nodded. Hilde could almost see the steam rushing out of his collar! She could barely contain her amusement! "Fine. Now that we have the reason settled, when will there be an open room?" She tapped her fingers on the polished wood while the man pushed some digital buttons on the monitor.

"Er… two days, ma'am."

"Good." Hilde faced the slack jawed woman and smiled the way she had smiled at Rob just yesterday. "Hi there. My name is Hilde Schebecker." She extended her hand.

"Uh… Hi… Kelly… Kelly Remming, Ms. Schebecker." With shaking hands, she reached out for the handshake.

"Call me Hilde. May I call you Kelly?" She let her go and the woman nodded, obviously still a little bit at a lost as to why she was talking to her. "Alright, Kelly. How about if you share my room with me? I'm attending a convention for Mr. Morley here." She accentuated Morley's name so that Clive would be able to identify her as one of the 'honored' guests.

Clive's eyes widened. 

She received the desired reaction. Good. He received the message. "I wouldn't be in my room half the time, so…"

Kelly blushed at the offer. "Oh… I don't want to intrude- or be a bother…"

"No. You wouldn't be. The room is large enough. I'm sure Clive would be able to accommodate you with a bed, _especially_ since you were obviously registered, but because of technical difficulties, your record was erased. Basically, you're an unlisted customer." Hint, hint, Clive.

"O-of course, Ms. Schebecker." Clive stuttered.

"Then, you could just move into the next available room, which I'm sure Clive would instantly reserve just for you."

Clive nodded his head quickly, though he couldn't believe he was agreeing to this! "At once, Ms. Schebecker."

Kelly looked from Hilde's confident face to Clive's embarrassed one. "I… uh… I don't know what to say…!"

"Don't worry about it." Hilde turned to face the clerk once again. She found one perk for knowing the odious Morley- his name held power, else Clive wouldn't be cowering before her like this. "Ring for someone to bring the bags to my suite, Clive, while I show Mrs. Remming the way."

"Certainly, Ms. Schebecker."

Hilde turned to Kelly with a smile. "Come on. They'll take care of it." She waited until the stunned Kelly finally reigned in her locomotive skills, then started to walk back towards the elevator.

"I'm really sorry for the trouble. Thank you for the help. I… I don't know what to say!"

"It's okay, really. I just hope you wouldn't think that I'm a weirdo or something for butting in and suggesting my idea."

"Oh no! I don't think that… I'm thankful!" Kelly remembered Clive's reaction when Hilde got there and giggled softly. "That man- Clive- did you see his face when you started catching their mistake and ordering him about?"

Hilde laughed along with her. "Yep! It was so funny!" They laughed until the elevator door opened. "So, is he your first child?"

"Yes. You see, Kevin told me to reserve a room here for our little vacation. He has 10 colony flights- he's a pilot- this week so he wouldn't be here until Friday."

"Two days from now. Hey! Great timing!" Hilde stopped in front of her room and inserted her card.

"Oh! I didn't even think of that! You're right!"

Hilde opened her door and- groaned. "Oh no…" The coffee table, adjacent to the door, had another vase of flowers on it!

Kelly peeked from behind. "What is it?"

"The stupid man sent flowers again." Hilde opened the door for her. "Here, come on in."

Kelly complied and then stared at the two vases with overflowing red roses. "My…! Those roses are beautiful!"

"You can have them if you want." Hilde said indifferently as she locked her door while Kelly walked towards the table.

"So, I'm guessing you don't like this guy?"

"I only met him yesterday and he already pushed himself on me! I mean, he suggested dinner last night and breakfast in bed this morning!" She nearly screamed!!! Instead, she dropped onto the couch, in front of the two vases, very much tempted to kick them off the table.

"Oh… that kind, huh?" Kelly sat on the other couch, in front of Hilde. 

"Not only that… see, he's a future customer. The head of this stupid convention."

"Ooohh… That is bad." The redhead shook her head, her shoulder length hair easily swaying back and forth with the slightest movement. "And I'm supposing that there's someone else?"

'Someone else…' Hilde sighed and she didn't know that her lips parted in a dreamy smile while her eyes held that faraway look…

"Yep… there's someone else." Kelly concluded with a quick nod and a short laugh. "What's his name? I'll tell you about my husband later."

Hilde reached for a square pillow on the couch and hugged it, wishing that it was him instead. "His name is Duo… He's my business partner, my best friend in the whole world, my housemate, and my husband."

"Sounds like my Kevin."

Hilde quickly shook her head. "Oh no… not like that. He pays half the rent and I pay the other half and we sleep in different rooms- for the past ten years, damn him! And… we're just husband and wife for a…" A blush appeared on Hilde's cheeks. "A month…" She couldn't believe she's telling a total stranger her troubles!!! Oh Lordy!

"A month? Oh!" Kelly's eyes widened. "You tried that?! How was it?"

"Not at all different from how we previously lived. Sleeping away from each other and going on with our work like usual." She made a grimace and Kelly laughed.

"Well, it seems like this Duo of yours is either dumb or he doesn't know he's in love with you."

"Heh! I wish!" Hilde quickly stood up, her throat parched. "Hey, want a drink? The fridge is packed."

"Sure. I'll go with you." The two walked to the small kitchen, chatting amiably of whatever they could think of, and a million other things. It's funny how you could find friends in such unique ways…

****

…

She moved quickly once the last presenter gave his speech. Ducked low, hid with the other people, and reached her room without a hitch! Until-

"Hilde."

Her nose wrinkled as if she had just smelled garbage and she gave a frustrated sigh before she turned with a tight smile. "Why, Mr. Morley. Paying a visit to your guests?"

Lawrence eased closer and his smile widened even more at how straight her back was and how her eyes were flashing with suppressed anger. She was a challenge he would win- at any cost. "Just to you, Hilde. Call me Lawrence."

"I don't recall giving you permission to use my first name." Hilde willed her feet not to take a step back when he stopped only a foot away.

"I made it my point."

"Your other guests will think that you have a favorite, Mr. Morley." She met his eyes unflinchingly.

"You are one defiant little girl."

"You're not much more than a little boy, yourself." A spoiled, rotten, little boy.

"Then that is good. A little boy could easily be forgiven… like…" Lawrence stopped as he tried to remember, "What was that child's name? Oh yes… Rob."

She couldn't believe he just used little Rob's name! She visited him this afternoon, gave a job opportunity to his father and exchanged recipes with his mother. Morley was definitely not a little Rob! She quickly stepped back when his hand reached out to touch her.

Lawrence stilled his hand. He'll touch her soon enough…

"Mr. Morley, I suggest that you stop sending me flowers."

"And I suggest that you start calling me Lawrence," His eyes took on a dangerous glint. "Or else…" 

'Or else…' Or else he would take them out? Or else he'll ruin MS Industries? He could do so many 'or else's'!!! Unfair! Underhanded ass! "I don't think you understand, Mr. Morley." Oh she wasn't planning to use this little factoid, but she didn't have any other choice! "I'm married."

"So?" Lawrence shrugged. "That could easily be taken care of." He reached out and touched her shoulders… saw her defiant eyes widen and felt her grow tense as his hands slowly traveled down her arms and finally settle on her hands. She never flinched, and never stepped back, a sign of courage and headstrong stubbornness… wonderful! "I don't see a ring on your finger."

'Get your grimy hands off me, you slime!' She almost muttered those words, but she hadn't forgotten that this was Lawrence Morley in front of her… She'll suffer a bit, but if he ever go farther… "I forgot it at home." The moment she muttered her excuse, she knew that it was a bad excuse, but there's no turning back now. 

"Really?"

Hilde pulled her hands away. She could tell that he didn't believe her. 'Darn it!' With the way his eyes slowly crawled over her again, she wanted to slap him! "Really." She quickly fished out her keycard and inserted it to the scanner.

He smiled when the door opened. "I see that you're about to invite me in."

"No. I already have a guest." At that moment, she thanked God that Kelly spoke.

"Hilde? Is that you? Your husband called just a few minutes ago."

She could hug Kelly for that!!! The sudden anger on Morley's face! Thank you, Lord! "Good night, Mr. Morley."

"Lawrence, Hilde." He reached out and grabbed her hand. 

Hilde glared at him. He was crushing her hand! Then, his grip softened and the smile he gave her sent a chill up her spine.

"Good night, Hilde." She's on his turf right now… All he needed to do was to make sure that she stays put… He doesn't have to worry about that husband- if there was one- of hers. The husband is just a mere pebble on his path. He released her hand and walked away while Hilde instantly closed the door behind her.

"Kelly! Kelly!" Hilde could feel her body tremble as she walked to the couch.

From inside the kitchen, sandwich in hand, Kelly walked out and saw Hilde's pale face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing… He was outside the door. I just want to say thanks." Oh she wants to talk to him so badly! "Duo called, right?"

"Yeah. I'm going to fix you some orange juice. You look like you might need it."

"Thanks." She grabbed the phone and dialed the number memorized by heart.

"By the way, Hilde. They just bought in a new couch- folding bed thingy. I'll sleep on that."

"Alright Kel- Duo! Hey you called?" 

Duo frowned her breathless, nervous voice. "Hilde? Hey… you okay back there?"

"Yeah… just fine…" She pushed a hand through her hair.

"You don't sound fine to me, angel." Hell! He's got an alarm when it comes to Hilde and right now, it's ringing like there's fire!

"No… there was just some moron who's been trying to hit on me."

"Morley?" Duo cracked his knuckles in anger. 

Hilde frowned. "Hey! How did you know?"

"Kelly told me. She said that you're very irritated at his," Duo grimaced, "Flowers and that he suggested some stuff to you- that asshole."

'Yep! Asshole!' Hilde felt a nice, funny sensation at Duo's reaction.

"You want me to go there and knock some senses into that guy?!" He really wants to!

"No… I think I can handle it… Besides, I want to get this deal…"

Duo's right hand turned into a shaking fist. "All right… if you say so… Just be careful, you hear? And if there's any trouble, just call."

"Yes, I will, Duo." She lay down on the couch and brought her feet on the backrest the way she did the night before.

"You know, give the phone to Kelly for a sec."

"Kelly?!" Hilde frowned and nearly shouted at the receiver. Jealousy replaced warmth. What did Duo want with Kelly?! 'She's married and pregnant!' She breathed in deeply and turned to the kitchen. "Kelly? Duo wants to talk to you."

"Coming!" 

She could only watch as Kelly breezed into the room, give her a glass of orange juice, and then take the phone.

"Hey Duo! Nice to hear from you again." She nodded. "Uh huh… yes… of course, don't worry… I'll make sure… Yep… Oh, I will. Just a minute, I'm going to get a pen and paper." She reached over Hilde and grabbed for the things. "Okay, shoot." 

Hilde frowned while Kelly scribbled. 

"Got it. Yep. I will. You take care too! Bye now." With a wide smile on her face, Kelly handed the phone back to Hilde. "He's so sweet!" She whispered while she pressed her palm on the receiver. "He wants to make sure you eat well and your back is fine and if there's any trouble, he gave me his phone number." Kelly winked. "I think he's in love." She turned and headed back to the kitchen. "I'm still craving for some food. I'll leave you with him."

Hilde could only stare as she disappeared into the kitchen… She was jealous because Duo wanted to make sure she was fine?

"Hilde? Hilde, are you still there?"

Duo's voice jarred her back to reality and she instantly brought the phone back to her ear. "I'm here, Duo."

"Well. Sorry about that. I just gave Kelly some info, just in case." He wanted to make sure nothing happens to her.

Honey… syrup… that was how she felt… Warm syrup… or melting butter on hot toast… "You didn't have to do that…" She deposited her glass on their table and finally settled in the couch.

"So, according to Kelly, you were her hero today."

"I didn't do much."

"Yes you did."

Once again, their conversation lasted until the wee hours of the morning when Duo yelled-

"MY FLIGHT!"

They were talking for that long?! About what? She couldn't even remember! "Oh dear! Go!"

"Alright. Take care angel."

"You too, Duo."

With a silent 'I love you' only whispered in their minds, the two hung up and Duo ran around in a frenzy to locate some more things while Hilde settled comfortably in the sofa and slept in.

****

…

"He is such a jerk! I hate how he looks at you as if he's undressing you!" Kelly's hands tightened over the knife as she murdered her pancake.

"You noticed that too, huh?" Hilde took a huge bite into her sandwich just to stop herself from shouting a string of expletives.

"You know what? I really do think we should call Duo and make him punch the lights out of that person." She could just… she was so tempted to throw an orange at the back of that man's head! "I'm so surprised you could still keep your cool with him!"

"Tomorrow's the last day. I have a flight out in the afternoon. Tonight, I'm presenting. Then I won't have to think about him anymore!"

"Thank you Lord!"

"My sentiments exactly, Kelly." If anyone could see them now… Two women, shaking in anger… "By the way, what time is your hubby coming in?"

"Two this afternoon. And," Kelly playfully coughed. "Clive personally made sure that I have a room. Thanks Hilde."

"My pleasure. I'm just sorry I wouldn't be able to meet your husband."

"Well…" She ate her last piece then drank her juice. "What time are you going to finish tonight?"

"Eight thirty, like always, hopefully… Then I'm gonna have to slink away again. I'm praying that he wouldn't follow me this time!"

"How about we come over right after you're done? That way, you won't be alone with him and you'll meet my hubby."

Hilde's eyes showed her gratitude. "Thanks Kelly! I'll order dinner then."

"Great! I want you guys to meet each other so much!"

Hilde smiled at her… Who would have thought that they'd click so easily like this? 

****

…

He could see through the holographic skies… the steel, gray bars above head. Those halogen lights to create dusk… the main control at the center of the colony. These were just metal and machines. Lifeless. Why was it that whenever he's with Hilde, he never noticed anything but life itself?

Duo stopped just outside that familiar office. Full circle. Just like the ring he was holding onto, inside his pocket. He's about to enter the ending. With a sigh, he opened the door and walked inside.

The person behind the counter looked up. She was the same woman they talked to four weeks ago. "Good Afternoon."

"Hi." Duo stopped by her desk. "My name is Duo Maxwell, and I just want to make sure you've got my papers all ready."

"I remember you." She typed something on her keyboard. "Didn't you get the license?"

"We did. I was wondering why it took so long, though." Without prompting, Duo took a seat. 

"Well, if it was just a month, then it would only have taken us a week, but I guess you changed your mind."

"Eh?" A confused look settled on Duo's face as he leaned forward. "Run that by me again?"

The cold woman glared at Duo. "You signed the bottom line, Mr. Maxwell. You and Mrs. Maxwell signed the bottom line. Didn't I tell you not to sign below the line if you were only going for a month?"

Duo's eyes widened as she explained. "We… we're…" He was having a hard time trying to swallow. "We're married?!" Was that his voice?! It sounded squeaky.

"Yes you are. You are legally married to former Ms. Schebecker. Not only for a month but for the rest of your lives."

He could hear the irritation in her voice, but he couldn't care less… He's married to Hilde! He's really married! His dream came true! Sunshine filtered through his cloudy skies and then… thunder and lightning crashed.

"Oh no…!" Duo slumped into his chair once again. "She's going to kill me!" 

"Excuse me?"

"Hilde's going to kill me! We only agreed for a month! We weren't supposed to sign the bottom line!" She would be expecting him to tell her that everything was fine… that the papers were on the way… How could he tell her… this?!

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

Dammit! How could such a sarcastic woman be in the wedding business?! Duo pulled out Hilde's ring and stared at it while he thought of a way out. "Do you have… do you have annulment papers?"

Shrewd eyes took in Duo's depressed state. "We do, but it has to be filled out by both sides."

"I don't want her to know…" Duo banged the heel of his hand against his forehead. "What am I going to do!"

The helplessness in Duo's voice tugged something in her heart… something she rarely showed. How come this young man was being able to bring it out of her? "Tell you what, kid." She waited until Duo looked at her. "If you could answer everything on her form, I'll turn around while you forge her signature."

Duo blinked as if the illusion in front of him would disappear, but the kindness in the cold woman's eyes didn't waver. "Th-thanks!"

With an efficient wave, she brought out the papers and handed them to him. "Here. Just fill them out and pass it to me."

"Thank you!" Duo grabbed the papers, truly thankful for her kindness, though his heart was heavy. "I'll only take a minute."

It took him longer… He was stuck! He had every single detail- her middle name, her parent's name, phone number, work number, birthday, and etcetera… but he couldn't remember whether the last two numbers of her SN was 98 or 89!

"Mr. Maxwell? Is everything fine?"

Duo looked behind him and shook his head. "I'm stuck."

"Why don't you call her?"

"She's in a meeting. Besides, she's gonna ask why… Damn!" He could kick himself!

"We're closing."

"I know." She's going to get mad because he didn't listen! Their friendship might go down the drain because of what he did! He might lose her! He is such a dumb, stupid, idiotic moron!

"Young man."

Duo stopped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. Slowly, he turned his head to look at her. It was a strict face, but her eyes belied that gentleness…

"Let me give you a little advice…"

"Fire away, ma'am… It doesn't hurt." 

She smiled. It was the first time Duo had seen her smile. "You look as if you're in love with this girl."

Duo nodded. What else could he do?

"You don't want to lose her, but that's exactly what you're doing… You're letting her go by signing those papers… Actually, you're letting her go without knowing her side of the story."

"I'm only her pal…" Duo turned away and stared at Hilde's name on the paper. Just her pal…

"Or maybe more. It might hurt… a lot… but don't you think she's entitled to know the truth? Besides… if she's such a 'pal' don't you think that she would be gentle with your feelings?"

"She's always gentle… always kind." Duo whispered as he brought out the ring and placed it on top of Hilde's annulment papers. "I'm the one who's not…"

"Well then… I suggest that you tell her the truth and ask for her decision." With that said, she slowly walked away from the young man and back to her table. "We're closing in five more minutes."

Her voice was back to its indifferent, cold tone and Duo nodded. She's right… Hilde needs to know the truth… He took the ring and dropped it in his pocket then folded the papers together. After a moment's hesitation, he turned and started to walk back to the door. He stopped, the door half opened, then faced the woman once again. "By the way… Thanks."

Duo saw her nod curtly then he turned away and started to walk back to his hotel… So… he finally decided… He's going to tell Hilde… He's going to tell her when she gets back home…

He pushed his hands into his pockets while he looked around. He touched the ring just as he caught sight of the jewelry store where he bought it… An idea struck him and… he crossed the street…

****

…

'Nearly there!' A sigh of relief escaped her as she brought out her card.

"Hilde, you left early again."

'No! No! No!' She turned with a tight smile on her face. "Good evening, Mr. Morley."

"I liked your presentation, Hilde…"

The way his voice sounded so low and husky… it hinted more about what he _truly liked _and Hilde's blood just boiled once again. "Really? Thank you."

"How about dinner tonight? Just to celebrate your…" His hand reached out and caressed her face, "Winnings."

Hilde quickly moved away. Oh, she knew what he meant… "I'm not for sale, Mr. Morley. You are buying the company's services, not mine."

"You are a part of the company, Hilde." He moved forward and she stepped back… but he already knew that she couldn't go anywhere… Her back was pressed against the wall and her door. He's caught her right where he wanted her.

"I'm warning you, Mr. Morley. If you even dare try and do something…" Hilde stopped talking as he leaned forward.

"What will you do?" She couldn't possibly knock him out… Thin and fragile Hilde? She might just break her fingers. "Scream…? I think I would like to hear that… though I'd rather you do it when we're somewhere more private…"

His breath touched her lips and her hands instantly formed into fists. "Which part of no don't you understand?!" She turned her face just as he took that small distance away and her skin crawled when his lips touched her cheek. She's not going to punch him… not just yet… Oh, but she's so tempted!

Lawrence's anger erupted. He's played her game. He's been patient with her. He's had enough! His hand snaked out and grabbed her chin.

Hilde's eyes turned to dangerous slits as she glared at him.

"What you don't understand, Hilde, is that I always get what I want." Even now, she's still defiant! It was lovely and frustrating at the same time!

She was so ready to punch him right then and there but-

"Hey Hilde!"

'Kelly! Thank God!' Hilde's mind screamed in relief.

Lawrence quickly dropped his hand to his side and turned to face whoever invaded their privacy. A couple. The woman looked familiar, but the man did not.

"Kel- Kelly. Hi!" Hilde swallowed when she heard her voice crack. 

"I hope we're not disturbing anything." Kelly's husband gave a withering glare at Lawrence. He could tell when a man was being too forward, and what he saw just a little while ago spoke of it.

"No… No, not at all…" Hilde gave Kelly a meaningful look. "Mr. Morley was just-"

"Seeing her off." The next time around, there wouldn't be any more disturbances. "Good night, Hilde." Soon… For now, he will settle with that thought.

"Good night, Mr. Morley." Her tone dripped with ice.

The three watched until Lawrence turned the corner then Kelly faced Hilde and hugged her. 

"Hey, he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"Nah… I was just about to punch him." Her hand went up to her jaw and slowly massaged it.

"That man is trouble." 

Kelly turned to the man and nodded. "I told you. That's the one. I don't like him. Oh!" Kelly turned to Hilde and reached out for her husband. "Hilde, this is my husband, Kevin."

"You're as gorgeous as she said, then again, I'm always a sucker for men in uniforms." Hilde cheerfully greeted as she shook his hand.

Kelly laughed while Kevin blushed.

"Oh wait… did I say that? Hmmm… I abdicate that thought. The man I fell in love with hates uniforms."

At that comment, Kevin laughed along with Kelly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that…" She pushed her keycard inside and opened her door. "I'm so happy it'll be all over tomorrow."

"Oh look! Dinner's here." Kelly announced as they walked inside. "Let's eat! I'm starving!"

"Probably 'coz you're eating for two, dear." Kevin whispered as he leaned down and kissed her hair.

Hilde grinned at the obvious show of affection. "Okay. Well… let's eat, shall we?"

With a murmur of agreement from the other two, the three friends enjoyed themselves, though one of them kept an ear out for that familiar ring of the telephone…


	11. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 11

- Chimera of Life -

**- Chimera of Life -   
Story One: Mutual Conquest   
Chapter Eleven   
By Heartfire**

~*~

"He didn't call last night, did he?" Kelly whispered as she observed Hilde's sad face.

Hilde sighed as she shook her head. "No… Well… it's okay. I'm going home today, anyway."

From behind Kelly, Kevin coughed. "Trouble at ten o'clock."

Hilde groaned while Kelly rolled her eyes. "What does he want from you? You guys already signed the contract. Geeze!"

"Don't worry about me… I'll handle him." Hilde whispered as she schooled her face into a smile. "Go on ahead, you guys. This won't take a minute."

Kelly stubbornly shook her head, but her husband gently pushed her to the waiting room. Hilde saw her mouth 'Good Luck' and wished for the same thing. When she turned, she frowned. Morley has his bodyguards with him… Why? "Hello, Mr. Morley."

Lawrence grimaced openly. "I told you to call me Lawrence, Hilde."

Her eyes followed the men in black suit as they encircled her. Danger bells rang in her head and her hand tightened around her purse. "I don't want to. Was there something we forgot to sign this morning?"

"I thought I already made it clear, this morning while we… conferred, that you will stay here."

Hilde's eyes slanted. She could remember every single, slimy detail. How he tried to kiss her again. How he tried to push his hands up her thigh. And then how he blatantly ordered her to stay put like an animal! "I told you that I'm married, that I'm going home, that I'm not for sale, and that I do not like you! So will you just leave me alone!" She took a step back but hands instantly gripped her shoulders from behind. Hilde gasped in surprise and tried to shrug free. "Let me go!"

Lawrence walked towards Hilde, uncaring of the stares the people around them gave. His hand reached out and caressed her snow-white skin with that hint of fire on her cheeks. "I have a flight back to Arche later on tonight and you will come with me."

"In your dreams." She's had enough! Her hand snaked out before any of his bodyguards could stop her and the sound of her punch and that stunned look on Morley's face gave her a momentary pleasure before her hands were twisted behind her.

Lawrence's touched his left cheek while he glared at her. "You will learn not to do that again." 

Hilde bit back a scream when he grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"I will deal with you later."

She opened her mouth to retort but huge hands clamped itself on her face, and nearly suffocated while she was slowly dragged back to the elevator.

"Kevin! Dammit! Let go!" Kelly squirmed under her husband's embrace. Hilde needed her help! Those damn men were going to kidnap her!

"Kelly! Hush…! We can't do anything right now!"

"What are you talking about! Let go!" They only met a few days ago but they had found deep friendship! She couldn't believe her husband would just let her be taken like that! 

"Kelly! Stop it! What good could you do if you were dead?"

Kevin's urgent whisper against her ear made her stop. "Wh-what?"

"Those men have guns. They are trained to kill… We wouldn't have been able to do anything but land a few punches on them and die on the spot."

Her strength slowly seeped out of her body as she stared at the elevator. Kevin's hold on her lightened. "But… she needs help…"

"We'll call the police… or… or somebody!"

"Somebody…" Kelly's eyes widened as she saw through her haze of anger. "Duo… We need to call Duo first! He needs to know!"

"Who's Duo?" Kevin let her go and she started pulling out things from her purse.

"Hilde's husband… or sorta like… Just shut up! Where's that paper!" 

The next thing Kevin knew, Kelly almost punched him when her hands snapped outward like a winner and then ran to the telephone booth, leaving her purse and things scattered on the floor. With a frustrated growl, Kevin picked up her stuff, grabbed their bags, and then ran after her.

****

…

'Okay… so how am I going to do this?' Duo turned the ring over and over again while he propped his feet on top of the table, and slouched his body in his chair. 

How should he phrase the situation to her? "Uh… Hilde… You might find this funny, but… we're married. You know, husband and wife. That 'till death do us part thing… Shit." Duo dropped his head on his table while he mentally screamed. Great! If he phrases his proposal like that, he's more likely to see her shoe on his face! 

The urgent ringing of his phone jarred him from his musings and with his heart still pounding against his chest, Duo reached for his private line and turned on his monitor, only to stare at an unfamiliar, panicked face. "Er… Hello…"

"Hi. May I speak to Duo Maxwell please? It's urgent."

'That voice sounds… familiar…' Duo frowned as he tried to remember- "Kelly!"

"Duo? Are you him?" No wonder Hilde fell in love with this wide, violet-eyed boy! 

Duo's alarm bells started going off once again. "Yeah, it's me. What is it? Did something happen to Hilde?"

Kelly nodded. "I just saw her being dragged away by that Morley's men. I think he's going to kidnap her!"

Duo's blood ran cold then it started to boil. "Over my dead body!" 

Kelly nearly flinched at the sudden anger in Duo's eyes. She could tell that this was one man you never should mess with.

Plans started rolling into his head. He could still think! Even with the million other things that were going through his mind! Duo checked his watch then glanced back at Kelly. "Don't call the police. Don't do anything- but try to know where she's being held at."

"Got it. My husband and I will wait for you at the lounge."

"I'll get there in… three hours."

"Three? The usual flight is five!" How could he get here in three?!

"I've got connections." Damn him if he's not gonna get there by fastest route! "See you there." He's gonna beat Morley to a pulp! He's gonna wish he's never been born! He's gonna murder him! 'Hilde… hang on…' Nobody's gonna kidnap Hilde while he's around.

Duo walked out of his office, shouted orders to his secretary then he was gone, a single thought still raging in his mind. 'And I mean nobody.'

Kelly wasn't even able to say good-bye when the monitor suddenly turned black. Well… he asked her to do something… She quickly slipped out of the booth, caught her husband's attention, and motioned him to the counter.

****

…

She had screamed until her throat burned and her voice cracked. Kicked and pushed furniture around and now, she sat on the upturned sofa. She had broken the clock a little while ago, so… she couldn't tell what time it was. All she knew was that, she was suddenly unusually calm… 

'I have to get out of here…' Her eyes traveled around the room for any possible way out. 'And I'm going to get that contract back…'

Hilde stood up and started to pace. "You messed with the wrong girl, pal…" She stopped just in front of the glass door entrance to the balcony… There wasn't any way out. She's on the top floor. The fiftieth… unless she jumps and meet death…

Her eyes widened and a smile lifted the corner of her lips. 'That isn't a bad idea…' She started picking up some of the hotel decorations, pushed the table near the door then set down the things she picked. When everything was ready, she took off one shoe and started banging it on the door.

"Let me out!!! Let me out or I'm going to jump!!!"

From the other side of the door, the two guards only looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"I mean it!!!" Hilde's hoarse voice shouted from inside.

"Sure you do." One of them shouted back while the other snickered. A few minutes later, a shattering sound came from inside the room. The two looked at each other with wide eyes.

"She didn't…"

"_Tak_!"

They quickly opened the door and walked inside then… their vision blackened…

"Serves you right." Hilde smirked while she patted her hands on her jeans then grimaced and started to massage her right hand. "Ohhhh… Darnit! That hurt!" One of the men didn't fall unconscious when she slammed him with the plant box so she had to karate chop him. "Ergh…" She looked down at her handiwork, flexed her muscles, and then grabbed hold of one of the men to pull him into the restroom. Good thing that he was just about her size…

****

…

Duo scanned the lounge to look for the woman whose features his quick mind retained. He didn't pack anything at all… Not a single thing except for a handful of bantam grenades and gas bombs, three fully loaded automatics and a bunch of thin wires for precaution. His friend Voltaire, Quatre's twenty fifth sister's husband, interstellar racing champion was- thankfully!- in town and lent him a shuttle- "Kelly!!!"

The woman who was wringing a handkerchief on a settee beside a man, suddenly looked up. "Duo!" She nearly pushed her husband to the floor as she stood up and met Duo halfway in the main hall.

"Where is she?" Duo demanded as he forced his hands not to grip Kelly's shoulders and jog the answers out of her.

Kelly shook her head just as her husband reached them. "I don't know."

Before Duo could say anything, Kevin interrupted. "All we got out of those damn clerks is that Morley has a helicopter waiting on the roof and his room is in 514. He reserved the whole floor for the convention-"

"But he's the only one left up there, and his men." Kelly added.

Duo's eyes glinted dangerously. "That's enough. I'm gonna slit his throat." Nobody kidnaps Hilde.

"Duo, do you want us to call the police?" Kelly grabbed at his sleeve before he could walk away.

"No. If you don't see me by midnight," Duo looked at Kevin. He's pretty sure this man would know. According to Hilde, he was a pilot before. Government. "Call a woman named Lady Une of the Code Black Department. Give her my name and tell her I'm in deep shit."

The moment the secret code came out of Duo's lips, Kevin straightened. He's been in service long enough to know what that department does! And if this guy knew the head… "Yes sir!"

Duo nodded then turned.

Kelly frowned as she stared from her husband to Duo's retreating back. "Kevin!!! You're not just going to let him do everything by himself, are you?!"

"Kelly, do me a favor…" He kept an eye on Duo until he entered the elevator. He didn't hear his wife answer but he knew that she heard. "Just shut up and pray."

****

…

'If the whole floor was only for him, then everyone I'm gonna see would be his men…' His hand went to the nearest gun plastered on his body as if the cold, iron steel would bring comfort to him when well in fact, what he craved for was his Hilde's warm touch.

The elevator door swished open and the hallway's fluorescent lights spilled onto the green-carpeted floor. His hand automatically fished out the gun he touched a while ago and kept it in check. Une would definitely get mad at him, but to hell with it.

No one was around.

Duo checked the numbers on the doors as he passed by- 

A man suddenly emerged out of the door just beside him. Their eyes locked. Brown eyes widened while violet ones slanted.

"Enem-"

A fist flew in the air and shattered against his jaw, dislocating it and instantly knocking him out. The unconscious body fell against the door and opened it wide to show six other men, playing cards. They stared at Duo in surprise while he quickly assessed the guns on the table and on their bodies. Instinctively, he grabbed a small, cylindrical object that hung by his belt, at the same time that he kicked the man on the floor out of the way.

They scrambled out of their seats. Half grabbed their guns while the other half ran towards him. 

Duo threw the object inside the room then quickly closed the door and held on to the knob. He could feel someone trying to open it from the inside, but he only propped his knee against the wall and pulled some more. White clouds of gas slowly leaked from the small opening between the door and the carpet. The struggle for the knob weakened then, it stopped moving.

Duo smirked triumphantly. That was too easy. "Sweet dreams." Without another thought to the men inside the room, he went in search of 514 while different methods of torture ran in his mind. He passed two more doors before he reached it. With years of training still etched in his actions, Duo plastered his body against the wall then slowly opened the door, his gun trained for any moving target.

He found none. Duo silently walked inside to investigate. There was just an open designer luggage full of neatly folded clothing. His eyebrow shot up. Morley- from what he heard and read in newspapers and magazines- was not the type who would lift a finger for chores.

"Eh, Gardo. You got it?" The heavily accented voice from inside the bathroom made Duo turn just as a man emerged. He was dressed just like the other seven Duo had knocked out minutes ago.

The man looked up from checking the contents in his arms and found a braided man with a look of murder and a gun aimed for his head. The contents in his arms fell just as his jaw slackened.

"Move and you die." 

The threat didn't need to be voiced. One look into those lethal violet eyes was enough for the message to come in clear and strong.

Duo calmly walked to the man while his left hand brought out one of the thin, snap wires around his belt. "Where's Hilde?" Duo reached the man. His quick eyes located the guns hidden under his body then he hastily took them away, throwing it to the farthest wall. 

The man didn't answer.

Duo walked behind him, grabbed one of the man's hands with his left while he clicked the safety off his gun and pressed the barrel against the man's neck. "Better talk fast. I'm getting impatient." He could see a trail of sweat slowly make its way down his face and knew he was nervous. The telltale pulse at the base of his neck, beating as if he just ran, was also a good sign.

"Alright. If you don't want to talk, then I don't have any use for you." Duo turned the man around and slammed him against the wall while his knee instantly pressed against the hand he just twisted a little while ago. Gun still held in check, he reached for the other hand and twisted it the same way he did the other then he grabbed the snap on wire held by his teeth, and in one fluid motion, used it to tightly wrap the man's hands.

"Das vidania, old man." Cold steel met trembling human skin and Duo slowly pulled at the trigger while his own heart pounded against his chest.

"No! I'll talk!"

He swallowed a sigh of relief. He doesn't have to kill him then… He doesn't want to kill anymore. Actually, he was just planning to leave the man unconscious and not pull the trigger. It's been too long since he last took a person's life, and he wanted to live without any more blood to scar his soul. "Good." Good for the both of us.

"De time. What?" 

Duo checked his watch. "Six thirty."

"D-de girl. She going to be transferred to the conference room. Then they leave in the helicopter."

Duo gripped the handle of his gun harder. "Lead me to the conference room."

The man nodded, though for the life of him, how he was able to do that while his head was pressed against the wall was a surprise to him. "Yes. Yes."

****

…

Hilde entered the room that was converted into an office. The machines that decorated the whole place were gone except for the telephone, a black rectangular box and-

"Morley's briefcase." Hilde grinned triumphantly. How stupid of the man to leave his suitcase open like that. Now, it's time for her to find that contract and destroy it. She grabbed the papers inside, pushed the chair away then laid them onto the floor.

****

…

"Who's there?" The man in front of a large table full of mechanisms with a headset didn't turn around. The thought that no one was allowed on this floor except for their boss's men, secure in his mind.

Duo tightened the string around the man's hands when he didn't answer, nearly making him cry. 

"H-hullo. Just Abner." 

The moment those words left his lips, Duo delivered Abner a blow that rendered him unconscious. He opened the door, gun ready to be fired, and peeked inside. 

The man in front of the control panel was too occupied with his work to notice the intruder. "I'm nearly finished with these tapes."

Duo walked behind him. "Well… that's good."

The unfamiliar voice made the man turn but Duo was quicker as he landed another one of his signature knuckle punch on the man's face and then pushed the man's head against the control panel for a satisfying thud. 

Unconsciously, Duo noticed a small red button turn from red to green and absently wondered what it meant when a voice called from the other side of the room.

"Jules! We are off schedule! Tell Gar and Kralen to bring Hilde to me, now!"

Duo looked up from the green button and glared at the direction of the voice. From behind the glass wall, Duo saw a man who had his back to him. The mere attitude in his tone of voice, and the way he was ordering to have Hilde be bought to him…

"Lawrence Morley…" The hissed words were like that of a snake, ready to strike. Anger burned in him and nearly made him forget his personal goal to not kill another human being. Like a panther about to strike, Duo silently walked out of the built-in glass room and into the large hall while his finger itched to pull the trigger.

Lawrence faced the fireplace with one sword in hand, twirled it around and then he did a couple of steps, unaware of the gun trained for his head.

Duo felt his irritation heighten as no attention was paid to him. He was holding a damn gun and this guy was doing some three step whatnot! He wants to finish this. Now. "Morley!"

At the unfamiliar, commanding voice, Lawrence slowly turned around. He didn't flinch at the sight of the gun, so used to it. Instead, annoyance showed on his face as he took in Duo's appearance. "Who the hell are you?"

Duo brushed the question aside. "I want Hilde. Where is she?" His low voice shook with barely controlled anger that nearly broke as he saw a proud smirk on Lawrence's face.

"And you think that I'm just going to hand her over to you?" Lawrence leaned against the brick fireplace and met Duo's glare with an indifferent one. 

"You better, or else." Damn! This guy wasn't afraid of a gun pointed at him?

"Or else what?" Lawrence looked down at the sword in his hand, and caressed it. He finished evaluating the braided man. "You are going to pull that trigger? You don't strike me as a murderer. Even if you are one, why didn't I hear any gunshots from your gun? It doesn't have a silencer. That could only mean that you haven't used your gun… that you do not wish to kill… Isn't that so?" He looked up and met the braided man's stony glare.

"You don't know anything about me." Duo muttered under his breath, a bit surprised at how close this guy had come to knowing…!

"Except that you want Hilde." His hand went up to brush his hair. "She is quite a woman."

"Shut up." He does not want to hear her name mentioned by this man.

"I want her, too."

"Shut up." 

Lawrence grinned. An angry man makes hasty decisions. "Fight me for her."

"I've got the gun." One pull, that's all it's gonna take.

"Do you think she will appreciate that? A single motion and it's over, sure… But you also have your honor… and I need to practice."

With lightning speed, Lawrence brought his sword up and unhooked the other one above the fireplace to send it flying towards Duo. Without taking his eyes off Lawrence, Duo caught it in mid-air.

"A duel." Lawrence brought his sword in front of him, the thin, sharp steel in direct line to the center of his body.

Duo gripped the sword in his left hand, and then… he brought his gun down and pushed it back into its holster. "You're still gonna be sorry." With the sword parallel to the ground, Duo pulled it out of its sheath. 

Lawrence nodded his approval. "We'll see."

The two met in the middle of the large room, swords outstretched… touched-

Duo saw the calculating look in Morley's eyes.

"No rules." Lawrence whispered dangerously.

Before he knew what happened, blood dripped from the tip of Morley's sword. Pain rushed up Duo's left arm and he looked down to find a deep cut. Duo's glare could sever a man in half as he looked back at Morley. Then… a dangerous smirk appeared on his face. "All right… No rules."

****

…

"My God! He's got all financial records and historical data!" The gasp escaped Hilde as she poured her attention over the papers on the floor. Every strategically made decision of a company, synopsis from all news articles… everything! "Well… one thing's for certain… he does his homework."

She pushed the sleeves of the black suit that she had taken from one of the guys up her elbows once again as she forced herself to look for that contract.

****

…

__

"Shuttle flight 076 of New Genesis, now boarding."

The announcement was clear above the noisy airport. A pair of aquamarine eyes peeked from behind blonde locks of bangs as he observed the noisy street, waiting for his ride.

"It's here." A gruff voice from behind stated as a black limousine came to view.

"Yes. Of course." The soft voice answered with a nod. He couldn't wait to drop into a bed and sleep, but of course, that wouldn't happen today. Another packed schedule. With a sigh, he looked at the projected blue skies but his attention was diverted by a wide monitor, on top of a tall hotel- more to the point, what was being shown on the monitor!

"Rashid! Please tell me that I'm hallucinating." Quatre motioned toward the screen. "Tell me that I am seeing an action movie with actors that looks exactly like Duo and Lawrence Morley."

From behind Quatre, Rashid could only stare. There's no doubt that everyone on this plane of the colony could see that huge screen… "Master Quatre, this I will tell you… That's supposed to be our hotel."

The limousine pulled up beside them and Rashid motioned the attendees to load the bag. Quatre continued to stare at the screen… That swinging braid… How could he doubt it anybody else _but_ his friend?! "Duo… what the hell are you trying to do?!" If Lawrence Morley's brother gets a hold of this… Quatre quickly entered the limousine and pulled down the screen between his compartment and the driver.

"Serad?"

Rashid closed the door behind him and Quatre motioned for him to be quiet. 

"Yes, Master Quatre?"

"When we reach our destination, I want you and Rashid to check for anyone who's taping the event on the screen. I don't care if it's for the news. Use the Preventer's name. Destroy all tapes. Understood?"

Rashid and Serad nodded. 

"What will you be doing, Master Quatre?" Rashid asked as he passed a glass of water to the blonde.

Quatre looked outside and grimaced at the mob that started to form outside the hotel. "I'm going to see what this is all about. Park at the back." He looked up and saw the image more clearly. The two were fighting with swords! Knowing Duo… he could hold his end of the sword, but fencing wasn't really his forte. 

Just as that thought left his mind, he saw Lawrence give Duo another cut on his right arm. He flinched. If he could only get there in time…

"Park this car, now. I'm getting out now."

Rashid nodded just as Serad stopped the car. Quatre opened the door-

__

"I am obviously more superior. Why don't you just give up and save yourself the pain?"

Quatre felt his anger rise at that statement.

__

"Heh! That's what you think, you asshole."

The people around Quatre pushed him around, and cheered Duo on. He didn't mind. He just wants to get into that hotel! He reached the entrance to the hotel and found a dozen policemen trying to stop the crowd from going inside. Without thinking, Quatre fished out his ID…

****

…

"Where is it?! Dammit!" Hilde pushed the papers aside in frustration, stopping the urge to crumple and tear them apart. She stood up and decided to check the briefcase again.

She didn't find anything. Nearing the end of her control, Hilde punched the inside of the suitcase then her eyes widened in surprise. 

There was a dent.

She leaned down and checked the width outside the case then inside… Her anger slowly faded.

"Smart…" A secret compartment. Her hands impatiently took off the camouflage bottom and she smiled… the contract.

"Finally." Her knees nearly buckled under her weight and stress. God! She found it! Her pounding heart started to slow down and she accidentally glanced at the small, rectangular box…

Hilde's eyes widened. "Duo…!?" Fighting Morley?! "He's here?" Her jaw slackened as she tried to understand what was happening. At that moment, she saw Morley's sword make a cut on Duo's arm.

"HEY! You-" A stream of curses flowed from her and anger towards Morley erupted in her once again and when she saw him fall to the floor because Duo kicked his legs from under him, she cheered. "I'm coming Duo." With one last look at the small screen, she started for the door.

****

…

Lawrence quickly shook his head while he tried to get his bearings back. He opened his eyes and found Duo, ready to strike him from above. With wide eyes, he pushed himself to his side and rolled away from danger. Then, with as much grace as he could muster, he stood up. He hadn't expected this uncouth man to hold out this long…

"No rules, remember?" Duo grunted as he reached Morley with an aggressive frontal attack.

Morley instinctively pushed his sword up and stopped Duo just in time. Their swords gave its metallic groan. 

Duo grinned. "X marks the spot." He's got him right where he wants him.

"Huh?" It was the only thing Lawrence could say before he saw Duo's incoming fist then… darkness encompassed his vision.

Duo watched as Lawrence fell backwards, cross-eyed and with blood gushing from his nose. The rewarding thud, as Morley's body hit the carpeted floor, made him smirk. "Next time, don't mess around with me, or my girl."

At that moment, the door behind him opened.

"Duo!"

Hilde's angelic voice rushed over him like warm water on a frozen body. Relief clashed with pleasure as he turned around and met her anxious eyes. "Hilde…" God he missed her!

For a moment, she broke their connection as she looked down at Morley's unconscious body. Duo tensed. He really didn't know how Hilde felt about that man… Actually… now that he thinks about it… Hilde had seemed annoyed but was it not that when women were annoyed, it usually also meant that they were covering who had caught their heart… right?

He watched her face for any hint… when her beautiful midnight blue eyes looked up and met his inquiring ones, a seemingly decade passed before they softened and a wide smile lighted her face. 

That was all he needed as he relaxed. He didn't know who took the first step forward, but they suddenly met in the middle, and then they were in each other's arms. They couldn't let go. He took pleasure as he held her in his arms just as she took delight to hold him in hers.

Their faces moved. His jaw scraped against her cheek. Sweat was wiped against her hair. Lips touched and locked. Tongues clashed, enticed and tasted. And then reality seeped through incredible feelings and Hilde pulled away.

Her even upper teeth bit into her lower lip as she stared at Duo's neck and slowly placed weight back onto tiptoed feet. "I… uh… I'm… I'm sorry…" She wasn't but… God! This was Duo and what could he be thinking-

Duo groaned. He's gonna regret this later, but right now- "I'm not." He leaned down and caught her lips once again to tease and relish until she opened up for him like a flower to a bird. 

Too lost in their own delightful world, they never saw the shadow that moved sluggishly inside the glass room… never heard the deathly click of a gun-

Then a sound akin to thunder erupted inside the room…


	12. Story 1: Mutual Conquest 12

- Chimera of Life -

**- Chimera of Life -  
Story One: Mutual Conquest  
Chapter Twelve  
By Heartfire**

~*~

Hilde and Duo turned just as a body crashed against glass, shattered it like sugar pane, and then dropped on the floor with a sickening sound. Two pairs of shocked, wide eyes stared from the unconscious body, up to… a mop of golden hair, leaning over a table to check his handiwork.

The blonde looked up and gave the couple, still in each other's arms, a tentative smile. "Sorry I'm late."

"Q-man?!" Duo gaped as he stared from their gentle mannered friend to the guy on the floor then back again.

He got there just in time to stop the man- thank Allah! Now… Quatre looked behind him to the other groaning man then checked the table. He saw the button he was looking for, smiled, and then pressed it. A light turned from green to red. "I'll explain later, but I think you two should hurry up and follow me." That said, he dropped to the floor and tried to trace a wire…

Duo and Hilde looked at each other. A blush slowly formed upon Hilde's cheeks just as it did on Duo's. 

Quatre grinned as he found the end of the wire, straight into the container he expected. 

Hilde cleared her throat. "Uhm…"

Duo swallowed.

"We need to talk…" They said at the same time.

Quatre pressed a button and a small disk popped out. "Got it." He carefully placed the silvery disk inside his research team's disk container while he placed the other in his pocket. Duo's and Hilde's record was much more important besides, his team would provide him another disk if he needed it. 

"Quatre… what are you doing down there?"

Hilde's voice nearly made him jump. Should he tell them? Should he…? "Uh… I… uh… dropped something…" He looked away, afraid that they would see what he's been up to. "Are you guys ready?" He noted the distance between the two as they nodded but decided to not think about it for now. "Good. Follow me. We'll take the back way."

"Why?" Duo pushed one of the men out of Hilde's way with his foot.

"I told you. I'll explain later." Quatre checked the hall outside the door then motioned for the go.

They didn't meet anyone as they went through their route. A slight flicker of surprise appeared on the couple's faces when they saw a limousine, with Rashid, waiting outside just as they exited the door. They didn't need any more prompting as they scooted inside the limo with Quatre right behind. 

"Rashid, Serad, did you finish what I asked you to do?"

"The other reporters only came in a few minutes before us but Channel 340 might pose a problem."

"Why?" Quatre leaned over to one side, grabbed the phone, and then hit a programmed number in the process.

"They were able to record it from the beginning. They might have a back up in their station. We were able to destroy their tapes but anyone who was watching 340 saw it."

Quatre nodded as he tried to think of any way to stop another broadcast. "Hello, Jasmine? I've got a big favor to ask."

Rashid turned to look at the couple with a confused look on their faces, and sitting quite far apart from each other.

"Yes, I know. Dinner? Sure. I'll be there for the gathering. Okay, there's a little situation over here. Could you please contact whoever's in charge of Station 340 and tell them to destroy all tapes with Duo and Hilde's pictures around seven fifteen p.m. Hartwater time. Got it?" A pause and the three could only watch as Quatre nodded. "Yes. Duo Maxwell and Hilde Schebecker-" Quatre's eyes widened. "You saw the whole thing?!"

Duo and Hilde frowned.

"You will?" Relief replaced shock and Quatre finally smiled. "Thanks, sis."

The moment he got off the phone, Duo cornered him. "What the hell is happening here?"

"I think Duo colorfully stated the question I wanted to ask." Hilde added as she frowned at Quatre.

Quatre sighed. "Well… I'm just happy that both of you are seated… Ready for the news?"

Hilde nodded while Duo shrugged and so, Quatre began to recount the earlier events. A few minutes later, the blonde looked from a slack jawed Hilde to a disbelieving Duo. "So… you guys basically humiliated Lawrence Morley worldwide."

"The crowd outside the hotel was cheering for both of you." Rashid added with a hint of a smile.

"Oh… my…" Hilde swallowed.

Duo weakly leaned against the backrest of his seat. "I… I don't know what to say…"

Quatre laughed merrily. All he wanted to say was- 'Bring out the champagne!!!' Of course, with the tension he could feel emanating between the two, maybe they shouldn't… "Well, that's a first."

Duo stepped on Quatre's foot but the blonde didn't mind at all. Already thinking ahead, he laid out his plan. "Duo, Hilde, right now, I think it would be best if you guys leave Hartwater. You can use my shuttle and you can go anywhere you wish. Then, I'll arrange to have your luggage delivered to your home. Is that acceptable?" Quatre didn't wait for their answer as he motioned for Rashid to contact their staff. 

Duo shyly glanced at Hilde, who was focusing all her attention to the hem of the coat she stole from one of the men. She couldn't look at him… not yet…

Silence encompassed the limousine until they stopped… Rashid was the first one out and held the door for them. Quatre waited until Rashid closed the door then motioned for them to follow him. "I'll walk you guys to the shuttle. You can wait inside." 

"Wait… what about you?" Duo sped up and started to walk alongside Quatre.

"I've got a meeting tomorrow."

"That explains why you're here." Hilde piped from Quatre's other side.

"Yes." Quatre's quick eyes zoomed to one of his staff and he walked faster. He does not want anyone to know that Duo and Hilde were in the airport. He wants them out of sight. "We're here."

They reached the woman in elegant, yet practical clothing, with a welcoming smile on her face. "Good evening, Mr. Winner."

Quatre nodded. "Good evening, Cassie. These are my friends, Duo and Hilde… Please take good care of them."

Cassie nodded. "I will, Mr. Winner. We are waiting permission to take off in half an hour."

"Are you sure everything is secure? Do you have enough beverage and food?" Rashid inquired as he checked the shuttle from the window.

"Yes sir. Everything is in order."

"Thank you, Cassie." Quatre gave the woman a smile before he turned to his friends. "Okay. Just tell the pilot where you want to go."

"Uh… Thanks, Quatre…" Hilde whispered just as Duo nodded.

Quatre shook his head. "It isn't any trouble. What are friends for, right? Of course, you still have to tell me what happened back there."

"Er…" Hilde looked away.

Duo coughed. "Sure, Q-man…"

"Fine." Quatre held out his hand for Duo and his friend gratuitously accepted it. He turned to Hilde, ready to do the same but she hugged him instead. "Well… you two lie low for a bit…"

"We will." Hilde waved her good bye. "Thanks again, Quatre."

Quatre only grinned, glanced at Duo who gave him a thankful smile, and then Cassie started to lead them away… A sigh escaped him just as they disappeared from his line of vision. "Do you think they'd settle their differences in twenty minutes?"

Rashid's eyebrow shot up as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "Master Quatre… what do you think?"

Quatre pushed his hands into his trouser pockets and shrugged. "Right now… I'm not thinking… Right now, I'm just… hoping…"

****

…

"The bathroom, is at the back and if you need anything, just press this button."

Duo and Hilde nodded as they looked around the shuttle. It was built for luxury, that's for sure! Man! They could invite a hundred people and party in here! The seats at the farthest ends were long and wide, almost like beds, while the ones nearer to the front were curved in a half moon… and everything was in white leather. Even the floor was carpeted! Luscious sky blue carpeting!

Duo whistled. "Man! Quatre's got the life…"

"Mr. Winner only wishes to please his guests and family members with these luxuries." Cassie fluffed a pillow and neatly arranged it onto the nearest seat. "Would you like some beverage or cakes?"

Hilde shook her head. "No, thank you."

Duo just shrugged. He's too nervous. "Uh… later, maybe."

"Remember, just press the button if you need me. I'm going to check on the tower status." With one last smile, she walked to the small door that separated their side from the main control system of the shuttle.

Duo nervously pushed his hand through his hair while Hilde unconsciously brought her hand to the base of her throat, a sure sign of unease. She couldn't take it – them, not talking… the tension in between… 

"Are you all right?" It was hard to tell if she received any bruises under that thick, black coat.

"Yes…" Hilde started to nervously wring her wrists.

Duo nodded… Her single answer didn't exactly prompt him to make a genial conversation.

"Duo…" She faced him and forced her eyes not to look away.

Suddenly feeling bashful, Duo tried to meet her look. "Yeah, I know… We have to talk."

Hilde nodded.

With the embarrassing knowledge in his heart, and incriminating evidence in his pockets, Duo swallowed hard. "Uh… Ladies first."

She stopped a grimace. She didn't want to go first… then again, better to get it over with. "About that kiss-"

"Hilde, please don't say that you're sorry." Duo cut her off… It pained him that she would say that again… Dammit! He wants to at least think she had felt something for him!

A frown appeared on her forehead as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She was a little bit confused… she wasn't even sure if she truly heard him say he wasn't sorry inside the conference room only a few minutes ago… She opened her lips only to ask him why but he cut her off again. This time, with a finger upon her lips…

"Please… Don't…" Duo quickly pulled his hand away then took a step back. Distance. He needs distance…

"I… I guess it's your turn…" What else could she say? He didn't want to talk about it…

All the different ways of introducing the problem that he practiced inside his office flew out of his mind as he heard his cue… He stuttered. "Uh…"

Hilde waited just as she always had.

"Y-you're gonna laugh at this…" He nervously pushed his hand through his mop of thick hair once again. He never even noticed that his braid was unruly.

A sinking feeling started to sweep through her stomach. "Let me guess… You forgot to go to AR-074…?"

"No!" Duo cleared his throat. Was that squeak, his voice?! "No… I went there…"

"All right…" Hilde frowned, trying to figure out why he was suddenly pale.

"Uhm…" He pushed his hands into his pockets and he felt the weight of the gold ring- Hilde's ring. Then, with his other hand, he felt the annulment papers. Slowly, he brought them out…

Hilde curiously tried to catch a glimpse but she only saw the edges of the white, folded paper. Duo looked from his hands then at Hilde and she saw complete hopelessness in his eyes… and… fear…? "Duo…?"

He tried to garner in his courage as he reached for her hands then guided it between them. Then, he placed his hands over hers. The confused frown on her face, in her eyes, didn't exactly give him the courage he needed, and he could feel himself tremble, as he had never done in such a long time. "Hilde, I didn't know… Believe me, I didn't know…"

Hilde tilted her head ever so slightly.

Duo bit his lower lip as he deposited what was in his hands on to Hilde's palms. She felt the coarseness of the paper, and the circular shape of the ring before she looked down at them.

"I… I don't think I… understand…"

'Of course not…' Duo smiled softly. "I've got a proposition for you…"

Hilde looked up and met his serious, violet eyes once again. "What is it?"

"Either you sign the annulment papers… or you stay married to me…"

The news nearly shocked her to immobility. "Wh-what…? Annulment?"

This time, Duo blushed deep red. "We… signed the bottom line… We weren't supposed to sign the bottom line of the contract if we only wanted to be married for a month."

She couldn't believe it! Her eyes widened in disbelief while she stared at Duo as though he was joking. "So… we're…?"

"We're legally married. That's why it took so long for the license to be processed."

"Oh my God…" What else could she have said?! Like a newly activated automaton, Hilde jerkily turned to the nearest seat, walked towards it, and then fell like a ton of bricks. This couldn't have happened. Was this a blessing in disguise?! Or was it a curse?

"Hilde?" Duo stood in front of her, afraid to touch her. "I'm sorry… it was all my fault… I wasn't listening when the lady was explaining the whole thing…"

She couldn't speak… God! What should she say?! Was Duo just trying to be a gentleman by telling her to stay married to him? Because of guilt?

"Hilde?" She had her head down, and he reached out to touch her but stopped himself just in time. He shouldn't…

How could she find out? How could she… "Duo… which one do you want me to choose?" She closed her fingers over the glinting gold ring, not wanting to see its shine.

Duo dropped to his knees… the moment of truth had finally came… He tried to laugh it off, but no laughter came. "Honestly?"

Hilde only nodded, head still down, face covered by her bangs. He wanted to see her reaction… With his right hand, he tenderly pushed back her bangs then traveled down the frame of her face then gently pushed her chin up. Her eyes were closed. He tried to ignore the disappointment that coursed through him. "Honestly… Hilde… I would pick…" He lovingly touched her left hand, the one in a tight fist. "This one."

Hilde's eyes snapped wide open and Duo stared into her deep, mesmerizing, sparkling, midnight blue eyes just as her left hand slowly opened to reveal the ring… her other half. "Why?"

Her voice was hoarse, as if she was trying to fight the urge to cry, and Duo felt the same way as he looked down at the ring. "It says why…" 

She gazed at the ring in the middle of her palm, and saw the slight difference… Her eyes swam in a pool of haze but she tried to blink it away as she bought the ring closer for her eyes to read the engraving inside the circle of the ring.

"I love you, Hilde…" He voiced out his feelings to erase any doubts that might be flittering in her beautiful head.

'_Duo loves Hilde_.' 

Plain, simple, and just utterly wonderful. A fresh batch of tears assailed her eyes. She must be dreaming… Someone must have found her in Morley's office and knocked her out cold. Maybe she's dead…? "I can't believe this… This isn't real…" She closed her eyes and willed for her body to wake up.

Her muttered skepticism cut through Duo's heart. Was she trying to say that she had not wanted to hear what he had just said? "Hilde… it's real."

Hilde shook her head. She wants to believe... She wants to believe it so terribly, but even with the ring on the palm of her hand… with Duo on his knees in front of her, why couldn't she believe it? Dread? Fear that everything might change? 

Slowly, Duo's hopes crumbled into dust… He found his answer in her silence. The way she wouldn't look at him. "Hilde…" 

She locked her jaw, afraid that she would suddenly bawl at the soft tone of his voice.

He was dying inside but he wanted to voice his feelings out before he accepts the inevitable. At least, there wouldn't be any more secrets on his side. "I know I haven't been the easiest man to live with… I've been an ass. I've been a complete idiot. I didn't know I was living with the woman I love all these years… and then when I finally did, I was afraid…"

Hilde's eyes fluttered open. Sparkling violet eyes met hers and she saw so much… so much more than she expected to… Truth…

"I was afraid our friendship would end…" A hopeless sigh escaped his lips as he turned away from her shuttered eyes and looked down at his lap, ready to end his confession. "I wouldn't stake our friendship on anything… If you don't feel the same way about me, just forget what I said… It wouldn't be the same, but I'd still like to be your friend, to be there for you." He was hopeless against the tide of emotions that had left him weak… Knowledge that everything wouldn't be the same after today was ripping him apart.

He had stopped talking… All she could see was the top of his unruly, brown head… 'God, if this is a dream, don't wake me up.' How could she describe what she had seen in his eyes? Her Duo… She let go of the paper in her hand and reached out to caress his hair. 

Duo frowned at the soft touch and slowly looked up… A serene smile lighted her face while her eyes held a soft look… Her knuckles tenderly made way down his forehead, cheek, and then gracefully turned to cup his face.

"So… you had been afraid, too…"

He couldn't decipher what she was trying to tell him. At the moment, he just felt so… tired.

If there was ever a perfect confused look, it was upon Duo's face right now, and she couldn't blame him… After all, wasn't it only a little while ago that she couldn't believe it herself? 

Duo's eyes slowly widened as Hilde traced his lips. He wasn't used to the way she was staring at him, holding him, caressing his face… He wasn't used to it but he doesn't want it to stop. Then, Hilde leaned forward and Duo forced his body not to move… He couldn't even think properly.

Hilde nearly smiled at the tension she could feel radiating from him. He, who was always so relaxed. She stopped just before their lips touched and her breath teased at his lips. "I love you, too…"

She saw the surprise in his eyes then felt his jaw drop and she used that moment to kiss him as a passionately in love woman would… and Duo responded the way she had always dreamt he would… only this time, it was better… 

His arms went around her waist and marveled at her taste. For an instant there, he thought he had lost everything… He was so wrong. They parted only to drink in air as a nearly drowned man would but their eyes were that of a thousand twinkling stars, so alive and full of joy.

"I thought…" Duo whispered as his hands traced a path from her elbows to her hands. 

Hilde nodded. "I know… me too…" She could read his mind…

He brought her hands, one of them opened while the other was closed, to his lips for a kiss. He felt a tremor from her that brought excitement in him. "I think it's time to put the ring back on…"

Hilde opened her left hand and Duo, still on his knees, picked the ring and reverently placed it back where it rightfully belonged- around Hilde's finger… With his eyes still trained on Hilde's face, Duo leaned down and kissed the ring then tentatively brushed a light kiss upon her knuckles. It was the most memorable day of her entire life… and his.

A knock came from the cockpit, and with their hands still clasped in each other's, they glanced at the door.

Cassie walked inside with her smile. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we're cleared for take-off and our pilot would like to know our destination to make the final flight path adjustments."

Their hands tightened in each other's hold as they glanced back at one another. His eyes asked her the question and she answered.

"Let's go home." Hilde whispered as she leaned against his shoulder with a sigh. 

He wouldn't have it any other way as he kissed her one her hair. "Of course…"

****

…

Duo checked his caller identification before he opened the communication lines and saw Relena's image.

"Hey, Rel." At that moment, Hilde peeked inside his office and he grinned as he motioned her inside.

"Duo, I heard from Une and Wufei that you haven't returned their calls."

"Hi Relena." Hilde stopped just behind Duo and took her usual place, but this time, knowing that Relena wouldn't see, she leaned forward and Duo's hand met hers.

"Hi Hilde." Relena gave a cursory smile then she leaned forward and stated her concern. "Please talk some reason into Duo. Une is not exactly the best person to cross… So was James Morley's younger brother, but still…"

"It's been a little hectic here, Relena… We'll contact her as soon as possible." She felt a tender squeeze from Duo and bit back a smile. They had been busy. Reporters had been knocking on their door day and night! It was a good thing that everything was slowing down… surprising, in fact, that no one had called their office for an interview all morning! Also, their sudden popularity incited tons of projects from all over the place. It was a miracle that they could still cuddle in front of the television at night!

"B'sides, Une doesn't get mad that quickly." His thumb lightly made patterns over the back of her hand that nearly made Hilde break in uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Relena shook her head. "It's been a month! Une has patience but it also has its limits! I'm the one who gets the unnerving stares for the both of you."

"And we thank you for that, Rel." 

Hilde nodded, agreeing with Duo. "From the bottom of our hearts."

Relena looked from Duo to Hilde and had the sinking feeling that she just missed a joke in there, somewhere… "Fine… all right…" A tired sigh left her lips as she checked her watch. "I'm sorry I'm snapping at both of you, but there's been too many press conferences lately…"

"Especially with your resignation in the process." Hilde leaned forward as she noticed the dark circles under Relena's eyes and concern washed over her. "Relena, are you getting enough sleep?"

The moment Hilde said that, Duo re-checked Relena's projected image. She does look a bit thinner.

Relena shook her head. "No… plenty of time for that later…"

"When is your official good bye?" With his other hand, Duo reached for a pen and paper. 

"Three weeks from today at Kwairy Hall, exactly at noon. Are you going to be there?"

The hopeful look on Relena's eyes bade them to nod. 

"Of course!" Duo underlined the date and place.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Who's going to replace you again?" Hilde tried to remember the name but right now, her brain had turned to mush with the way Duo's hand was tickling her palm.

"Sylvia Noventa." Relena looked behind her then grimaced. "Well, I have to go. Wufei just screamed that I'm going to be late."

Duo nodded then winked. "Maybe you'll see Heero there."

For a moment, Relena stared at the monitor as if shocked then she laughed half-heartedly. "Yes… Of course… Why didn't I think of that, Duo? I'll wear my most alluring gown. Bye now."

The monitor turned black and Duo pulled Hilde onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck while she tried to get into a better position. "You know, I think she forgot that you were only joking about Heero."

Duo glanced back at the black monitor. "Yeah… That gurl needs rest… We need to get Heero there, too…"

She knew him well enough to know when something's brewing in his mind. "So… what are you thinking?"

He just grinned. "Maybe it's time we finish up here and pay a visit to Une…" 

He was talking about something else. She could just feel it. "Just remember, I want in on the plan."

Duo grinned. "Of course… Then…" He playfully growled as he leaned for a playful bite on her neck. 

Hilde gasped. "Then?" 

"How about a nice… long… overdue… honeymoon?" His tantalizing lips traveled up her neck then settled onto her lips and she could only murmur her approval as she tightened her embrace around him and he deepened his kiss… 

They'll face the wrath of Une… later… 

****

... 

"What is it?" Intelligent brown eyes stared at the strip of paper that slowly came out of their machine. It was the first time that Arche was contacting them- 

"Ma'am..." 

She didn't waste any time and took the strip of paper from her subordinate's hand. Mentally, she screamed, while a hand curled in a shaking fist. "Duo... Look what you've done..." She handed the paper back to the soldier while she tried to think of a substitute plan to the one she had before. Whom could she turn to? 

As the head of the Preventers stepped out of the room, the soldier glanced at the paper and read the message- 

'Warning for Duo Maxwell, Arche's public enemy number one.' 

{AN: I do hope you all enjoyed the start to my saga! Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I wanted to write to everyone, but not all have open emails and I usually could only check my email during the weekends. So I am writing a general --Thank You! A friend of mine recommended that I write a _preview _of the next story so, taking her advice, here it is. I hope you will enjoy it as much as story one.}

_Preview_ **__**

Story Two: Probe the Psyche

The glass behind her shattered to a million pieces and before she could stand up, someone tackled her from behind. Indescribable pain erupted through her as her head was knocked against the stage floor while her breath was snuffed from her body… Then, along with the soft ringing sounds that came out of nowhere, she heard a familiar voice shout a string of commands…

****

…

The hands deep in his pockets shook. He saw Relena's head hit the stage floor… Saw her wince because of that sloppy tackle….

"You were late…." The words escaped from tightly clenched jaw. He was furious and anybody who could see him right now would be able to tell even without glancing at the burning look of death in his eyes. 

One more second and Relena… could have died in front of his eyes-

****

…

Relena met his gaze steadily. "Wufei, you have done your best to protect me. You have stopped numerous assassination attempts on my life before they even happened. If I was destined to die… I will die." She walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wufei… death is my only freedom."

She treaded to the only window in the room while her words echoed in her mind. If she had wanted freedom… why did she ended up doing what the note had asked and, thereby, escaped the only way to obtain what she had been longing for? 

{All right. Everyone take care now! And thank you once again!} 

_Authoress: _**_Heartfire_**


	13. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 1

Probe the Psyche **

- Chimera of Life -   
Story Two: Probe the Psyche   
Chapter One   
By Heartfire 

**  
~*~ __

"All the tears will never make you love me  
All the tears will never make you stay...  
Cry as one might, wail as a siren wan-  
I have shed my last tear...  
Ached my last ache...  
But love you-  
I still do."  
  
~*~ 

The pen wavered in her hand then dropped on the smooth, polished top of the Elizabethan table while a deep sigh, potent as whispered words, flowed like a cold breeze during lonely summer nights inside the room… 

Her speech lay on the table, forgotten.

She reached out to touch a small piece of white cloth within the folds of her notebook while her mind reminisced those treasured moments of long ago. The cloth was torn from Heero's uniform when he was in Sanc. It was the only thing she had to remember him… That, and the teddy bear now safely tucked inside one of her boxes… If it weren't for them, she would have thought everything that happened to her during those hard times were just a figment of her imagination… Even Heero's face was just a blur to her, now… but her feelings remained clear.

No one saw her caress the small cloth… No one heard those mournful sighs… No one-

"Relena, is there a genetic structural factor in onnas that always make them spend their entire time in their rooms to unconsciously be late for conferences?!" Loud knocking sounds accompanied the yelling voice.

Relena rolled her eyes in frustration and did her best to keep calm. She hated it when such irritating tone of voice invades her only time for peace and quiet. Not to mention that she almost- almost!- remembered his face! Ah well... There'll be plenty of peace and quiet when the day is over.

'At long last!'

The notebook slammed shut and the cloth was squeezed within the last written page of the journal. Knowing that no one would think of looking through the most obvious place, she inserted the notebook inside the box of her other school memoirs, a great camouflage.

"I'm coming! I just need to fix my hair a little bit more!" 

Her soft voice, hinting upon the finality of their conversation, reached the ears of the person waiting outside. "Make sure about it!"

She waited for a few more minutes. Once sure that the person outside had left, she turned to her dresser mirror. Facing her reflection, she repeated the phrase she had told herself a million times before.

"Relena, you are a fool. You've accepted this a long time ago and you will live through it. You promised yourself that you wouldn't care and you do not. You know that he will never show up. You know that he will never reciprocate your feelings. So, close your eyes." She closed her eyes. "And forget about him. Just forget about him and be happy with what you do have."

Her chest rose and fell as deep breaths flowed after another through her body. Then, knowing that she had secured that one memory under lock and key once again, she opened her eyes to a face with a touch of smile and nodded her approval.

"Good." She stood up and walked out of her room only to see the person who had knocked on her door only minutes ago, leaning proudly against the farthest wall.

"Finally." 

The irate word reached her ears but she didn't turn her head as she passed by him. "Wufei, what have you found about Quatre? Where is he?" Concern laced her quick question.

Wufei walked by her side, intensely aware of his surroundings though they were just inside her house. One could never be too sure. "According to Mariemaia, he received a special mission with an unspecified date of return."

She absorbed this information as she did all the others. Since Wufei hadn't expounded, it only meant that whatever Quatre was doing… it was important. "Thank you. I was just worried… I haven't heard from him for quite a while now, you see." She closed her eyes for a moment and, in her heart and mind, she wished him to take care. "What about Hilde and Duo? Any word?"

Wufei grunted. "I still say they shouldn't show up today. Those reporters will get on their tail- two for one- you and that Maxwell in one day. The press will have a field day."

"So, I guess that means they haven't called…" She stifled another sad sigh. Her friends promised that they would be there with her on her last day… Where are they? She looked at her ceiling high window with drawn curtains and then shrugged. Those two probably were having a hard time getting themselves through the airport without anyone noticing them… Or maybe they'll get into Kwairy Hall, incognito. Knowing them, they'll probably surprise her with a party afterwards.

She looked at her silent bodyguard then reached out for his hand. 

Wufei stopped in surprise. He looked at his hand, encompassed in Relena's, then into her serious face.

"Wufei… it had been wonderful… Thank you."

The deep meaning in her words, the look in her eyes… It cut through him in the oddest way and he could only grunt out his response. 

She understood him, the way she always had and let go. Wufei didn't speak any more while they walked out of that bare house and into her white limousine just as they had done so many times before- indifferent, yet highly attuned to one another.

****

…

'How was he even able to talk me into this?' The thought came for the millionth time in the span of one hour as the boisterous, talkative man beside him blasted his ears with inconsequential data. He thought that with all the years that passed, the man had matured enough to control his loquaciousness and be more aware if the person he was conversing to even cared! But no! He's more ignorant, in fact! Well, that was the conclusion he just came up with a few seconds ago.

"I don't know how Hilde puts up with you. You are too noisy." His cold, monotonous voice cut through the merry, one-sided conversation and stopped the brown, braided man in mid-sentence. 

Mission Accomplished.

"Hmmm… that's a good question… I wonder how…" An innocent 'I'm wondering' look passed over that mischievous face. 

Heero inwardly cringed. Once again, when it was down to shutting Maxwell up, Mission Failed. A hidden smile lifted the corner of his lips. How funny that he could say those two words nowadays and not feel like a failure.

"I'll ask her later once I get back. So, man, how do you like our li'l get together so far?" Duo crossed his fingers as his hand ran through his thick mop of hair. It was just accidental that he saw Yuy a few days ago. He's still wondering what the guy was doing at the Preventer's Main-HQ… As for himself, he gave some overdue statements about that stupid dictator's brother who thought he'd get Hilde. Too bad for him! He didn't know whom he was dealing with! Duo Maxwell, the God of Death! Then again… according to Une, he needs to stay on his toes. "It's not as explosive as our last one, but hey! You can't say you ain't enjoyin', right?"

"Truthfully…" Heero started his answer with an icy glare aimed at the grinning man while they walked through the busy crowd. "I am not enjoying myself."

Duo shrugged indifferently. "That's 'coz you don't give yourself time to enjoy yourself. Not to mention that you don't let yourself enjoy life." 

'So true…' A silent sigh left Heero. 'Took me a long time to realize that… but so true…'

Duo pushed his hands through his jean pockets. "So, whatcha been doing lately? I haven't heard from you, you haven't contacted any of us… So? So? So? So?" He knew he was pushing the right buttons… Getting Yuy riled up was one of his favorite hobbies! Not to mention that it was a rare opportunity.

'You don't want to know…' The sad thought left Heero's mind while his eyes turned to dangerous slits. "Duo-"

"WHOA! Look who's on television!" Duo suddenly pointed at the small 24 inch television inside one of the side vendor's slot where- he could see for himself- it was helping the man's business grow by keeping his customers entertained.

Slowly, Heero's eyes followed suit… 'Damn…' He took in her pristine look as she primly sat on a chair by the left side of the stage… She had not changed. Matured… more curvaceous, but her manners were still the same… Unspoiled as always. And he thought he'd get at least one day of his time without thinking of her. 'Damn.'

Duo grinned. Oh his friend could hide his feelings alright… Too bad Duo Maxwell has such good eyes. He could see that minuscule muscle that stood out on Heero's neck, as if trying to hold back a lot of stress. 'Good… Now if everything would just come down as planned… Heero, my man, don't disappoint me.'

"Hey Heero… She's just in that building over there! Wanna go inside and say hi to an old friend?" Duo motioned his head to the wide governmental structure on their left.

Heero pushed his fisted hands deep within his jacket pockets. He knew exactly what he should say. He wasn't ready. "No." He doesn't want to. Damn hard enough that he would always find her face on television, and that her name would always appear in newspapers to haunt and taunt him… as if dreams weren't enough. Why couldn't his memories leave him be the way he left her in the hospital without a good bye?!

Duo's face fell. He pouted his lower lip then sighed miserably. "Well… I could never change your mind, so what's the use trying? All right, if you don't want to visit her, I'll just go and get us some ice cream." An evil grin suddenly appeared on his lips. "You can stare, gawk, and ogle at her some more without getting embarrassed."

Heero's hand snaked out to grab Duo's collar but the slippery slime just evaded his grip and laughed while he ran away.

"I'm going to get you because of that." Heero muttered dangerously while he glared at the braid that bounced up and down Duo's back and then it suddenly, swirled around the black clothed body.

Duo faced him with a wide grin, gave a fun wave, placed his hands to the sides of his face, and opened his mouth. "By the way, Heero! Have you told her you love her yet?!"

For a moment, Heero's eyes widened in shock. He quickly looked around then before anyone could notice the change, his eyes turned to slits to fiercely glower at the Cheshire cat grin on Duo's face. 

"Don't go after him… You've got enough time to kill him later…" He repeated that phrase to himself over and over again while his eyes followed Duo's trek down the street until he disappeared. "Enough time to torture him later…" He turned to look at the television just as it showed Relena reach the speaker's podium. His eyes read her lips while his mind wagered a war between thinking how luscious those lips looked, and forgetting about her.

Relena, the center of his confusion… When would he be given a chance to solve it? Self-realization and re-evaluation had both been difficult tasks,but he came through it with one answer- Relena Dorlian…

****

…

"I have enjoyed my work very much and I am truly sad to relinquish my hold." She glanced at the huge clock at the back wall while her hand crumpled a piece of white paper with pasted magazine letterings behind the speaker's stand. Funny how… calm she feels. 

"I believe that Ms. Sylvia Noventa will serve you well." Her hand smoothed the paper upon the stand and her eyes quickly glanced down. To the audience, it would seem as if she was just taking a momentary look at her speech- thankfully! Though she already knew what was on the paper, she couldn't help but glance at it once again. 

__

"At noon, drop your pencil and pick it up. 

A friend." 

Less than a minute to twelve... 

She was not afraid to die, if the message was true. This was the first time she received a warning instead of the actual threat. Then again, if it weren't true, she would look like a clumsy fool… 

Her lips moved as she continued her memorized speech. 

Thirty seconds to twelve… 

Should she do it? Wufei had done a wonderful job, ruining many previous assassination attempts… He had always been able to confront and prevent such situations well before the initiated time, much to the attempters' surprise. Yet, how did this one get past him?

Fifteen. 

Her hands and feet grew cold but she held her stance.

Five. 

Her eyes went to the pencil on the stand. 

Three… 

Without thinking, she pushed the pencil off the podium then she quickly stooped down to retrieve it, already mentally rehearsing an excuse when a deafening sound of gunshot echoed through the stillness of the air.

{_Heartfire's Note: It's been a long time, but I'm glad ffnet is finally up once again. I hope you all liked this first chapter. Don't worry, as I did with Duo's story before, 2 chapters a week. Take care everyone!_}


	14. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 2

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Two  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

The glass behind her shattered to a million pieces and before she could stand up, someone tackled her from behind. Indescribable pain erupted through her as her head was knocked against the stage floor while her breath was snuffed from her body… Then, along with the soft ringing sounds that came out of nowhere, she heard a familiar voice shout a string of commands…

****

…

The hands deep in his pockets shook. He saw Relena's head hit the stage floor… Saw her wince because of that sloppy tackle….

"You were late…." The words escaped from tightly clenched jaw. He was furious and anybody who could see him right now would be able to tell even without glancing at the burning look of death in his eyes. "Wufei… You were late." The words left his mouth once again while the crowd around him pushed and shoved to get to where the shooting happened.

One more second and Relena… could have died in front of his eyes-

"Hey Heero! Wazzup with everyone?! What happened? People around here look stressed out." 

The voice reached his side but he didn't acknowledge the owner as his eyes glared at the fuzzed screen. One of Wufei's orders was to cut the press connection and unconsciously, he couldn't help but think that if anything had happened today… to her… Relena… he would never get the answers he's been looking for…

"Yo, Heero? Yah okay, man?" 

A double scoop vanilla ice cream with dripping chocolate syrup atop a waffle cone bobbed up and down his vision.

"I've got ice cream." The singsong voice announced while he turned the ice cream's bobbing motion to a swaying one.

"You eat it. I'm going somewhere." Heero turned away, a million things in mind.

"But-"

"He was late." 

Those dangerously said words reached Duo's ears and sent a shiver up his spine. "Whatcha talking 'bout?" Duo shouted at Heero as he walked into the crowd. In a few more moments, he disappeared, and, as always, no answer came from his tight-lipped friend. Duo rolled his eyes in frustration, walked to the stand with the television, and sat on one of the stools while he held on to the two ice creams. "Now what's gotten into him?"

"Duo!" 

Duo quickly turned in his chair to face the direction of the voice, and then a loving smile parted his lips as his vision was encompassed by loveliness.

"Hey sweetheart." He opened his arms as the woman stopped in front of him and then promptly embraced him like there's no tomorrow. He nuzzled her neck then kissed her cheek.

"Where's Heero?" She sat on his lap and leaned her body against his frame while he placed his chin at the crook of her shoulder.

"Off to murder someone, I think."

Hilde chuckled. "Not you, I hope. I don't want to spend that honeymoon by myself."

Duo grinned. "Nah. I don't think so. He had plenty of time to punch _and_ shoot me while I was showing him the ice cream."

She glanced at the ice creams. "They're melting." She followed a drop that slowly made its way to Duo's finger. 

"You know that one of them is for you." Duo brought the vanilla ice cream near her mouth while he brought the chocolate one to his lips.

Hilde smiled mischievously. "Why thanks." She leaned forward.

Duo felt her velvety tongue lick his hand slowly and then reach the cone. He gulped. God but he loves her! 

"Aw heck with the ice cream." He dropped the two cones on the table, turned the woman on his lap around and feasted on her lips instead. Thankfully, everyone on the street was clustered outside Kwairy Hall where Relena had been giving her farewell speech.

Hilde placed her hands on his chest, intent on pushing him away, but she clutched his shirtfront instead and brought him closer. "We have to stop. Remember, honeymoon."

Duo's teeth grazed her lower lip. "Count of three… One" He kissed her full on the lips then moved a millimeter away. "Two." Their lips met. His tongue played with hers and when they parted to take a breath. Against his will, he said the last number. "Three."

Their foreheads touched and their breaths mingled. 

"Are you okay?" Hilde asked in a whisper while her hands slid around his neck.

"Not exactly…. But I'll live." Duo smiled as he kissed her chastely on the cheek. "Few more weeks then we could leave."

A happy laugh escaped Hilde's lips. "Yes… I can't wait."

His embraced tightened. "Neither can I."

"So, are you planning to tell anyone about the plan?" 

Duo shrugged. "Nah… Maybe… but I don't think so. I'll invite all of them to our other wedding though."

A content sigh escaped her lips as she snuggled in deeper. "Why not…? I do love to hear you say yes."

Duo laughed. "You forget, I'll hear you say that word again, too." They stayed in each other's arms while chaos ruled the people around them- the radios, newspapers, press and… someone's mind.

"This is funny… we're going on our honeymoon before our wedding." He placed a kiss on her midnight blue hair as she whispered in his ear. 

"Hey! We've got an overdue honeymoon. Then…" He grinned mischievously as he nuzzled her neck. "We could do it again."

"I wouldn't mind at all…" Hilde quickly stood up and pulled Duo along. They have to start moving around if they don't want to do it in daylight. "Let's go check out those brochures."

"Okidoki." With a hand around one another, they started walking. They passed the crowd of people who demanded for information but the couple was separated in their own beautiful world… 

****

…

'He's going to be here…. I could feel it…' A stream of expletives left his lips before he faced his subordinates. "Well?! What are you all doing just standing around here?! Go and get more information on the attempt!"

The three gave their leave and left just as the adjoining room's door opened. 

"Wufei, calm down… I'm fine. No one was hurt… Please calm down." She had been waiting until the others left so she could at least talk Wufei's anger down and not let anyone else get hurt.

Wufei pushed himself away from the table then stood up, his back to the woman who had just walked into the doorway. "You don't understand anything." The assassin didn't leave a single mark of existence! That was what bothered him!

"I do not? Wufei, we've been together for nearly nine years. How could I not understand you? You like green, you love spicy foods, you are responsible, caring and sweet- once people get past what you initially say, that is..."

He knew that she was just trying to make him feel better, but he was too worried for her sake, and angry with himself to care. "You don't understand!" He turned around to face her and instantly grimaced at the bruise that was starting to appear on her ivory cheek. "It was my duty to protect you! My duty! It was my honor on the line! If you…" His voice faltered at the unacceptable thought. "If something happened to you today, I would have been disgraced!" There was more… but he couldn't… he doesn't want to think of it. He was not used to thinking about it. Better to say what he had thought was priority.

Relena met his gaze steadily. "Wufei, you have done your best to protect me. You have stopped numerous assassination attempts on my life before they even happened. If I was destined to die… I will die." She walked to him then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wufei… death is my only freedom." Her fingertips grew cold with trepidation at what she had just said, but she had come to that reason a long time ago. 

Wufei frowned at her but she only smiled unhappily then walked back to the adjoining room and closed the door behind her.

She treaded to the only window in the room while her words echoed in her mind. If she had wanted freedom… why did she ended up doing what the note had asked and, thereby, escaped the only way to obtain what she had been longing for? 

From the other side of the door, Wufei turned away, confused… What had she meant? He knew that lately, she had been unhappy… but now that she's free… Isn't this what she had been wanting? Couldn't this new freedom extricate her from her unhappiness?

Before he could find an answer, a knock came from his main office door and he scowled as he opened-

Knuckles rammed against cheekbones. Wufei's ears roared with a ringing sound. He stepped back with eyes closed as he let the wave of pain pass by and hold back a curse. His left eye would be black and blue tomorrow. Damn! He didn't even see that one coming! There was only one person who's got the nerve to do that. "I knew you'd come. Was that for the assassination attempt?"

"No. That was for the sloppy tackle." 

Wufei opened his eyes and one of them squinted in pain, while the other glared into the open hole of a SAR model 3.

"This is for the assassination attempt."

Wufei unflinchingly met the gun's opening. "Careful. She's just in the other room." He calmly jerked his head to the other door.

Heero followed, gun still in place… She's just in the other side. The real image… Not a photograph on a newspaper, not in the screen, but the real one… and there's always that something different… when in person. He had avoided her for so long… Now, there she was, only a few steps away… 

"What did you mean, you knew I'd come." He levered the gun away then clicked on the safety. He felt better after the punch and after pointing his gun at Wufei… more in control, but right now… _She_ dictated his actions again- Damn! Why does she always affect him like this?! 

Wufei turned to face the other room. "You think I never see you when I raid attempters?"

Heero didn't answer. He couldn't make up his mind whether he was happy that she does not know that he was there, or not… "I know that you don't."

Wufei shrugged. "You didn't say that you weren't there, either."

"You're putting words in my mouth." 

"I'm just saying what you're not voicing out."

"Wufei, you've grown soft."

Wufei's eyebrows shot up then gave an incredulous snort. "I haven't, but you have… and you don't even know it."

"An observation from someone who was blind with today's assassination attempt…" Heero gave Wufei an irritatingly superior smirk. "I will definitely keep that in mind."

Wufei let that one go, though his hands tightly gripped each other behind him. He turned to stare at Relena's door instead. "One thing about that assassin… he's got stealth and could hide himself very well. He left no marks, Heero." Memories of the attempt assailed him and all other thoughts left his mind as he focused on that event. An assassination attempt on her last day of office… Someone out there had been planning for this day. They want her dead. 

Heero shook his head. "Wufei, keep your options open. It could have been a woman."

An incredulous 'Hah!' left him but before he speak his mind, his office door opened wide-

****

…

"How is your training coming along?" She needn't ask. Her daughter's supervisor's reports had cried out their praises.

"Wonderfully well, mother." She opened the door for the stately figure and followed right behind.

"Mariemaia, walk beside me." 

She obeyed the soft order instantly. "Yes, mother." They walked on a few steps more until she was able to calm her frayed nerves… "Thank you…"

Une stopped then turned, her soft brown hair swayed as she faced the teen. "For what? I haven't done anything." Her gentle brown eyes questioned the teen.

Mariemaia smiled, her green eyes lighting up. Oh, she loves her mother so much- even if she was just an adopted one. "For giving me the chance to prove myself and… trusting me."

Une reached out to touch Mariemaia's shoulder length red hair as love for the child shone in her eyes. When Mariemaia had asked her if she could call her mother… the joy she had felt! She doesn't look anything like Treize, except for the shape of her eyes, but she has her father's fondness for people and nature. For courage and strength. For life… She knew exactly what the child meant. Mariemaia hadn't forgiven herself for her actions when she was a child. "There is nothing to make me believe otherwise."

For a few moments, mother and daughter stared at each other, smiled then resumed their walk.

"Whom will we pair with Ms. Relena after we take Wufei away from his duties?"

"His second. There is no one else."

Mariemaia sighed. "If only Heero stayed a bit longer." She smiled as she pictured a happy couple. Her deep respect for Heero and Relena earned them a place in her heart. There's nothing more in the world she would like than for them to be together. And with the recent attempt on Ms. Relena's life… she should work faster. "It's not as if he's got anything to do, anyway."

Une just smiled at her impatient voice. "You don't know that. Anyway, be careful, little matchmaker. The last time your father plotted something like that, the people he wanted to be together ended up with the other partners."

Mariemaia grinned cheerfully. "He's a man. Girls are better with this game."

"Planning and tactics… I should have known." Her voice held amusement rather than the severe note most of the people around her were used to.

They reached Wufei's office and Mariemaia instantly walked in front of Une to open the door. She looked inside to grin at Wufei but her eyes fell on the man she thought they would never see again, at least, for a while! She couldn't stop the gasp of surprise that left her mouth. "Mother…!"

Une stepped forward and saw who caught Marie's attention. Perfect. She didn't waste any time. "Wufei, you are officially relieved from your duties to protect Ms. Relena Peacecraft. Go to wing 27 and receive your new orders." 

Wufei's jaws slackened and whatever retort about women assassins left him while Heero frowned at the new twist.

"Heero Yuy, I was planning to ask Wufei's second to head the investigation and Ms. Dorlian's protection. But since I see a more qualified person in front of me, the position is open to you. This arrangement will only last until Wufei finishes his assignment."

Heero was definitely knocked on his blind side, but he didn't lose his footing as he kept his stoic face and unflinchingly stared on Une. "Wufei, assess your second."

Wufei grunted. He wants to question Une's sudden change but… "Mr. Jhos is competent but… slow."

Mariemaia stole a glance at Heero. Her mother was actually helping her!

Slow… The job requires skilled, competent, _fast_ workers. There was nothing else he could do but to say- "I'll take it." The words seemed ripped from his throat. What did he do!? He had reason enough to realize all possibilities against volunteering and yet he still said yes?! A niggling thought that he might still be able to back out snapped from the back of his mind, but he never backed out of a mission before… and he's not about to start doing so, but this is going to be one agonizing mission. He knew he just sealed his doom. Damn his old habits.

Mariemaia clapped her hands happily. "Wonderful! I know that you will protect Ms. Relena from all harm, Heero. I just know it."

Heero glanced at Marie, nearly a woman. It was a bit hard to keep in mind that she's Treize's daughter- especially since she's so cheerful.

"Shall we tell Ms. Relena, mother?"

Une nodded. "Come with us, Heero." 

Wufei, nearest to the door, opened it and led the group inside. Relena heard them come in but she didn't move from her spot by the window, still staring at the endless blue sky…

"Hello, Ms. Relena."

"Good afternoon, Mariemaia." Her voice sounded tired - and she was… Not to mention that she could feel a distinctive glare on her back… She had felt that before… oh yes… 'What is he doing here?' 

"Relena," Une started her news.

"Yes, Ms. Une?" One of the rules for polite conversations: respond to show that you are listening even if you are not facing the speaker.

"Wufei Chang has a new assignment. I have assigned Heero Yuy to fill his shoes."

Heero saw her shoulders stiffen. 'So… she's not fond of the idea…'

'No! Not him!' Relena closed her eyes. He still hasn't spoken. Fine… Let him think that she doesn't know he's around. "Have you notified the person? Has he approved? He may not wish to protect someone he had wanted-" Relena shook her head as she corrected herself. "No… _vowed_ to kill so long ago."

Heero almost – almost - opened his mouth to explain but… explain what? The question he asked himself turned him mute and he tried to remain calm though he was churning with numerous questionable feelings… That's why he stayed away from her… He could never understand himself when he's around her. One minute you want to kill her, the next, touch her and kiss her to kingdom come. So, why the hell had he accepted this assignment? One answer: to finally settle his confusion.

Une's eyebrow rose to prompt Heero to speak but Heero didn't acknowledge her. Well, she knew this game well enough. "Heero Yuy was notified, and he acknowledged." She turned away and with a quick look, gave Wufei the message to follow her. "I have a meeting. Excuse us."

She opened the door this time, the first one to walk out, Wufei, and then Mariemaia after she gave a wave to Heero and closed the door. They were finally alone… after all the years that had passed… they were alone again.

"So… when were you going to start talking, Heero?" Relena asked, still facing the window, forcing herself not to turn around with much enthusiasm. He will not know that she's excited… No. That will never do.

Heero's eyes widened, ever so slightly. How did she know that he was there? What should he say? Tongue-tied again. Before, he never really had anything to say to her, and then it was all about war. Yet, war was a familiar subject to him, one he could easily talk about. Now, though… there was no familiar ground to stand on… 

Relena finally turned around and her eyes fell on him. "It has been a long time." She took in his casual jeans, white shirt, and blue jeans jacket while he took in her immaculate white, long sleeved dress in classic style. Then her eyes traveled to his face and hungrily memorized him, engraving his features in her heart.

"Yes, it has." He couldn't understand why he suddenly couldn't breathe when her clear blue green eyes met his own… He had forgotten how beautiful her eyes were… Heero scowled… '_Beautiful?!_' That word had never been in his vocabulary before!

She couldn't deny it… Her pulse was faster, her stomach was fluttering, and she still found him extremely handsome. But… he shall never know these things. She made a fool of herself before, and she will not do that again. When she saw him frown, her courage rose.

Relena walked to him, stopped just a step away, then looked straight into his Prussian blue eyes. She will take in everything like a modern woman. She opened her lips to tell him off and to finally close that one chapter in her life that had left a hole in her heart.

Every single thought he just had flew out of his mind as her scent invaded his senses. He couldn't think… couldn't grasp his thoughts… He knew this would happen. He had accepted that she could truly affect him… Why wasn't he able to prepare? 

"Heero Yuy, you are such an ass." 

She could have called him something worse and he wouldn't have cared. He seemed mesmerized by her moving pink lips… 

His unfazed look irritated her some more and years of pent up frustration, years of trying to understand him, years of one-sided love finally came out in anger. "Life really gave you a hard blow, huh? Too bad, Yuy. All of us get that. I hate what you're doing to yourself and to everyone else! You think we don't care?! Well! We do! You're the one who couldn't care less!"

Heero blinked a couple of times to make sure that this was Relena in front of him, with flailing arms and a scowl of unadulterated anger.

"You know what? I've always thought that you were strong, but maybe I was wrong." She should stop… Every situation has its different point of views, and reasons. But right now, what she's raving about were her own. Heero has his own side, but she couldn't stop herself! Besides, she had wanted to tell him these things for such a long time. "You've closed yourself up. I bet that even if somebody tried to teach you, you wouldn't even try!" 

Now, the words he hadn't wanted to say escaped his lips… The words he'd been hiding from the day he soberly realized that one thing as he walked under a starless sky. He wants to learn something… something his instincts told him only she could teach. Like a whisper in the wind, the words came out… "Then try me, Relena… Teach me…"


	15. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 3

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Three  
By Heartfire

**

~*~

The next words that were supposed to leave her lips- words that were supposed to set her position with Heero- disappeared, and in its place, questions. "Wha- what do you…"

Heero's piercing Prussian blue eyes met hers, his face ever serious though he was on a roller coaster ride within. "What do I mean?" He couldn't believe that he said that. He hid it for so long… had thought that he was just fine without her in his life… and then this?! There was no turning back now… 

For a moment, Relena thought she saw uncertainty in those always confident eyes. How was he able to turn this conversation around…? 

What _did_ he mean? "I don't know it myself, except that…" His right hand involuntarily reached out to touch her chin. Why? Because he wanted to be sure that she was truly in front of him… Always he'd force himself not to touch her but sometimes, it was just so hard. He truly wants to finally understand this side of humanity… this side that he's so blindly curious of.

Relena swallowed. "Except that?" She could feel her whole body tremble and prayed to God that he wouldn't notice.

"That I want you to teach me how to feel the right emotions…" The moment he said those words, he knew that it was the truth.

He couldn't look away and neither could she… A strong feeling of joy coursed through her. That he would want to do such a thing… that he would ask her to be his teacher… Questions filled her head, and with it, reality… "Heero, I can't… You're the only one who can teach yourself those…" She couldn't even finish her sentence. 

He didn't expect such an answer and he quickly let her go as if burnt. His eyes stared over her shoulder, unable to meet her open gaze because of the simple reason that he had opened himself for the very first time and he was just slapped. 

Relena bit her lower lip as she felt, rather than saw, his hurt. She had caused that pain, and though he gave a share of burden in her life, she knew that he hadn't meant it. This, on the other hand, she objectively, reasonably declined… Reasonable decision… a good decision… Why then was she reaching out for his hand?!

Heero jerked as he felt her soft touch and he quickly looked back into her face. A slight smile appeared on her lips before his right hand was completely encompassed in her small one.

She relented… When it comes to Heero, she never could say no. She closed her eyes, briefly told herself that she must be careful, and then opened them. "If you want me to, I will try." She met his eyes to show her sincerity and, how long they stood there, staring at each other as if sizing their will, no one knew.

Heero questioned himself...

Relena questioned herself...

"Thank you." Those words were his acceptance. He had waited a long time for answers and now, he's finally going to get them. That was the only reason why… right?

She smiled. She never heard him say those words before. "You're welcome." She suddenly became very aware that she's still holding his hand and instantly let go just as a blush blossomed upon her cheek. "So, where should we go next?"

"To where you were nearly assassinated. I want to investigate the site myself."

"Fine." Relena shrugged nonchalantly then started to walk in front of Heero. Without turning around, she voiced one thing she wanted him to surely know. "Heero…"

He focused on her back. "Yes?"

Her throat suddenly felt dry, but she was determined to teach him. After all, he was willing to learn. "First order of business…" This is going to be hypocritical of her because she would be doing the exact opposite; then again, she wasn't the student. "Don't hold yourself back."

A frown appeared on his forehead as he followed her graceful gait. 'I never do…' He mentally told himself, almost like a creed… but why was it that he could feel doubts rising within?

****

…

Glass cracked under Heero's soled feet. He was at the scene of the crime and sharp memory relived what happened earlier… Had he felt terror? Was that when your heart seemed to have stopped? Damn! He had only felt that once or twice before in his life… or maybe more, but he just couldn't remember-

Cracking glass from behind made him remove his gun from its holster and face the intruder in one swift motion- he stared into Relena's unfazed eyes. "I told you to stay in the car."

She ignored his monotonous voice. It had felt so strange to hear his voice again. It was deeper than before… But his eyes were just as blue and hair was just as thick. She was able to get a good look at him from inside the car. She must have memorized the back of his head by now. "Heero, I am a grown woman. I think I can decide whether or not the coast is clear."

That she was, but… Heero's eyes turned to steel when Relena only walked past him, straight to where the bullet had hit the steel background of the shattered glass. He racked his brain. She seemed so different from the Relena he once knew… She was more… irritating.

He watched as she observed the bullet indentation, stood, glanced around the building, and then walked to the podium.

"I am glad I dropped my pencil." Her whisper reached his ear. She decided not to tell Heero about the note. It was not relevant.

'So… she knows that if she was standing, it would have gone through her head…' Heero looked at her in a different light. "How did you know?" He walked to the bullet indentation and saw the status of inclination. Not that he ever thought her to be stupid… but how did she gain knowledge of bullet trajectory?

"Excuse me?" Relena nearly jumped at that accusing tone. Does Heero know something about the person who wrote to-

Heero faced her. "How did you know the angular travel?" He was curious to learn how a person who supposedly lives for peace could know so much about bullets.

Relena nearly slumped in relief. She couldn't explain why, but she could not bear the thought that a person might get into trouble because of helping her! How she was able to look at him directly and cunningly evade his question, she could only chalk up to practice. "One does not live with Wufei for nine years and not get something out of it."

Heero frowned. Something blinked red at him… Something she said- "What do you mean '_live with_ _Wufei_'?"

"Are we finished here?" Relena asked as she walked to the exit. She really must stop thinking of how handsome he is if she doesn't want to get hurt in the end again.

"Yes. Now answer my question."

She turned to him and tried to act as if she didn't care when, in fact, the mere thought of having him under the same roof sent her stomach flipping about. "Part of the contract, Heero, is to live in the same house as the client being protected. I assume that Ms. Une didn't tell you about that?"

Heero decided not to answer. He was too stumped. He should have known! Why was it still a surprise to him? Or maybe, he unconsciously decided to ignore it.

"Don't answer the question. I have a feeling she forgot to mention it." She sighed. How could Une do this to her?! "If you wish to leave this assignment, I will not stop you. It is a waste of your talent." 

They were standing face to face once again… Staring eye to eye… 

"No… I'll stay. I'll get my things later." This mission was a waste of his talent? Well… he couldn't say that it wasn't!

Relena nodded. She looked away and started walking back to the car. "I am sure that you would like to assess the house…?"

"Yes. After a small detour." He was walking just beside her and in his mind… he was already mentally torturing himself. One thing's for sure… 'This is going to be one long… mission.'

"Detour?" Relena glanced over her shoulder with the question in her eyes. She was not aware that they had to go somewhere else.

Heero's eyes hardened as the bruise on her cheek, now blue violet with red violet spots in the middle, taunted him. He couldn't bear to see her with such a mark. "It will be quick." 

They reached the car Une had given him for the assignment- a classic, very practical black Buick- then he opened the opened back seat door for her. 

"Thank you." Relena whispered as she gracefully entered the car. Another long drive ahead of her… She stifled a sad sigh. 'At least Wufei talks… er… complains…' The car started to move and she glanced at the back of Heero's head while she wished for him to talk. Complying with the inevitable, she leaned back and fiddled with her fingers. There was no use trying to make him talk. It just won't happen.

She tried to think of what she will do in the future instead… There wouldn't be any more conferences to plan for… at least, not for a while. Freedom, and yet right now, she feels trapped- especially with Heero around. Maybe she should start planning what's needed for her house…?

Heero's eyes seemed drawn to the rearview mirror. She had that thoughtful look on her face and he wondered… what was she thinking of?

Halfway to listing which color her bathroom carpet should be, Relena glanced outside the window and frowned as they entered a place she hadn't seen in such a long time. "Heero…? What are we doing here?"

He didn't answer. She bit her lower lip and scolded herself for even thinking that he would answer. The car stopped, finally parked, and then Heero turned, his eyes nailing her to the seat. "Stay here."

He was treating her like a child again! Then again, she was unfamiliar to this town, so she couldn't do anything but nod. "Of course." She watched him leave then… slumped in her chair and wallowed in misery. Once again, she asked the question that had plagued her since they left the Preventer's base- how could Une do this to her?! She had laughed off her loneliness and surrounded herself with activities ranging from the environmental protection to the poverty stricken population… She had finally accepted that she would never see him again, even joke around with Duo and Hilde- bless them!- about him… then this! 

A gasp nearly left her when the driver side door opened so suddenly. Heero entered and she promptly willed her pounding heart to slowly settle while he got comfortable. Suspicion rose within her when he turned around then quickly looked away… almost all too quickly. Then a pot of… grass was suddenly thrust to her.

"Here." Why the hell did he even buy this plant for her? Now she's going to act like any other girl and fawn over it as if it meant something when it didn't… did it?

Relena's eyes widened as she stared from the plant to Heero's downward face. She looked at the pot… What did this mean? What was it for? Why was he giving her a pot of… grass? "I… ah…" She gulped out her- "Thank you… Heero…" 

Her hand reached out to take the gift and Heero felt that butterfly touch against his fingers. He nearly jumped as an unfamiliar sensation snaked through him. "It's for your bruise."

His gruff words, before he turned to the steering wheel, didn't help Relena's understanding at all. "Oh? Uh… What is it called?"

Against his will, Heero looked up at the mirror again and saw Relena's confused frown on the plant. Damn! She probably never saw that kind of thing before. With a sigh, he turned around just as she looked up, but when their eyes met… he couldn't look away.

"It has a lot of names… _Kusay_. Call it that." He saw her smile shyly then she tried the word and he almost laughed when her accent made her mispronounce it. 

"You said it was for my bruise…?" Her words were barely a whisper. The car was too small… maybe she should never have given up limousines…

Heero nodded. "You take a leaf." He tore off one of the spindly looking leaves, "Then you crush it until it gives off the juice." He demonstrated it efficiently.

She nodded though she was just half listening. How could she have ever forgotten such a face? "Then?"

His hand moved on its own accordance and touched her face… her cheek… her bruise… "You wipe it over the… bruise…" 

Relena closed her eyes as she relished his tender touch. With fingers under her chin, his thumb stroked her cheek… She felt as if she was in a dream.

A smile appeared on his lips as he stroked her face and couldn't seem to stop. His heartbeat had grown faster and he couldn't seem to look away from her lips… 

From outside, a horn sounded off… a bicycle chime signaled… and then somebody bumped against the car.

Heero jerked his hand away and quickly stared to his right, but the milling crowd… whoever had _bumped _against them was able to hide. He felt angry and relieved at the same time while Relena felt as if she was just jerked back to reality so fast that her surroundings were still spinning!

She was compelled to touch her tingling cheek, but she forced herself not to as she looked down at the plant with undivided attention.

Heero quickly glanced at her from the mirror and saw the green juice streak over her cheek then he cursed himself over and over again. 

****

…

"I'm coming… I'm coming…" Relena muttered as she opened the door to her study, dropped the basket of roses on the table, and turned on her monitor.

"Yo, pretty lady. Mornin' to yah."

Relena frowned at the cheerful face while she untied the ribbon under her chin and finally took that sordid hat off. "Duo, how did you get my new phone number?"

Duo grinned and shrugged at the same time. "Hey, I've got skills. So," he leaned forward and nearly meshed his face against the screen. "How's the new," he coughed, "… _body_guard?" His eyebrows went up and down suggestively, hinting upon the unspoken meaning.

Relena rolled her eyes as she sat down in front of the monitor. "I don't know. I only see him when we eat. I think he's memorizing the whole place, every nook and cranny."

She saw him slap the base of his palm to his forehead. "Geeze! Relena!" He pounded his hands on the table. "Fate dropped that stupid boy on your lap and what do you do? Nothing!"

Relena's frown deepened. "Well… what's there to do? I mean, he's not interested in me and-"

"And he came to you the moment you were in trouble to punch Wufei. Have you seen the poor guy's black eye?"

Relena's eyes widened, concern suddenly enveloped her for the man who had saved her life countless of times in the past. "Wufei? A black eye? What happened? I've got to call and see if he's all ri-"

Duo couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of him. How could she be so clueless?! "Gurl, open your eyes! _You_ happened, that's who! When Wufei wasn't able to protect you…" He purposely left the sentence hanging.

"This is absurd. Heero wouldn't." Her hand involuntarily went to her cheek, now without a bruise, then she shook her head, cupped her chin with her palm, and decided to change the subject. "So, did you just call to laugh at my demise, or to see if I needed your cheering up?"

Duo's face became serious. "I called to see if you're doing something to what God had sent you and I see that you aren't. Relena, you need to work in order to get what you want… You, of all people, should know that."

Relena looked away, unable to meet his eyes. What good was going after something if you already know that you would never be able to achieve it?

"How long has it been? Two days since Heero officially started? And you only see each other when you eat?! I bet you don't talk to each other at all- knowing that numskull." 

Relena's head snapped back to the monitor, defensive for Heero's sake. "You wouldn't be so confident calling him names if he was here."

Duo shook his head. "The fact of the matter is that if you could make warring colonies be the best of friends, then I'm sure that you could turn his head around by hook," Duo's lips suddenly parted to a mischievous grin, "… or by crook…"

Relena stared at Duo's image incredulously. Duo always had the wildest ideas, but this…?

"Look at that fru-fru you're wearing. How could you make him look at you if your whole body is covered in ugly faded maroon whatchamacallit? Don't you have a bright red, tight fitting dress somewhere?"

"Are you suggesting that I flirt with him? That I seduce him?!" Ideas started popping in her head, but as quickly as it was produced, she crushed them.

"You got it, babe." Duo nodded conspiringly. "Tilt your head a certain angle. Make his eyes follow your hands. Make him wonder. Make him crave… Offer and snatch it away. You're a woman. Use it to your advantage."

Relena quickly shook her head to rid her of the images her friend had just invoked. "Duo, you're putting ideas in my head!"

Duo nodded. "Exactly. Now, do it."

Relena's eyes widened once again. "What?!"

"Relena, the last sensory device has been set in place…" Heero frowned at the guilty, pale look that flooded Relena's face. "What is it?"

Relena gulped while Duo grinned at her from the monitor screen. He could clearly hear his friend's monotonous voice.

"Yo, Heero! I'm just talkin' to Relena here."

Duo's voice reached his ears, prompting him to walk to the computer and face his _friend_. "What did you tell her?" If Duo told Relena he shouldn't have-

"Nothing man! Sheesh! You're waaay over protective of your woman dude!"

"Duo!" Relena gasped out while her hand went to her lips. She could die right now… God let her be swallowed into the depths of the earth!

Heero glared at him. He could feel blood rush up to his cheek and the back of his neck—is that embarrassment?

Relena bit her lower lip, trying to come up with an idea to end the situation at hand. "Heero, I was just asking Duo if he would like to spend the rest of his, and Hilde's vacation here in my new house."

Duo's grin reached ear to ear while Heero shifted his glare on Relena. His hand pushed the mute button while another turned the monitor screen around just as he saw Duo's image cry out 'Heeeey!', if you read lips.

"What are you planning?" Heero placed both his hands on either side of Relena's chair. His instinct was telling him that something's afoot...

'Think quick and fast…' Relena met his eyes squarely. "I am not planning anything at all. They are my friends and I would like them to see my new house. Not to mention that I think they would be the best people to base your lessons on." He hadn't changed a bit. Still silent, monotonous, and suspicious… though that last one was justified. But the fact was, how could she teach him when he's never around? When he's always ignoring her?

Heero pushed himself upright then resumed the monitor's original position. "Fine." He pushed the mute button once again-

"What was that for?! As if _I_ would listen while you two make sweet talk with each other-" Duo stopped as Heero's furious glare hit him in full force.

"Duo, how about it? Would you like to spend the rest of your vacation on Earth here?"

Once again, that grin reached Duo's ears. Heero felt the urge to both throttle the man and laugh, but he did neither.

"Relena, Hilde and I would be delighted to spend some time over there." He chanced a glance from Relena to Heero then back at her. "And believe me, we _will_ enjoy ourselves." More than you'll ever know.

Heero crossed his arms and kept his stoical facade while Relena mentally sighed.

"Anywayz, I'm gonna go now and look for my beloved. Over and out, guys!"

The bluish light that covered Relena's face disappeared and she finally faced him, thankful that it was over. "Would it be too much if I ask you to show me where you hid the devices?" She had learned, so long ago, that one of the methods to keep a person happy was to keep them engrossed, and the best way to do that was to use whatever interests them.

"No." Heero wearily looked at her. Why the sudden change of topic?

"Then I'm asking." 

She smiled at him and Heero felt something akin to softening that made him instinctively put up defense walls. "Fine. Follow me."

****

…

It was the fourth camera and sensory device.

"Where is it?" Relena squinted her eyes as she stared at the brick wall.

"Second layer from the top." Heero answered promptly as he looked up and his trained eyes instantly caught sight of the small device. He was trying very hard not to step any closer to her…

Relena checked once again. "I still don't see it."

Heero went beside her and pointed, completely forgetting his goal to stay away. "Right there."

Instead of following the direction his finger was pointing at, she stared at his face instead. Okay, so she was a bit ruffled because she could not understand what he wanted. He asked her to teach him, but he would always disappear on her. He touched her as if she was a precious gem, and then he acts as if she was garbage.

"Relena, you aren't looking."

"No. I looked until my neck ached. Now, I'm looking at you, trying to figure something out." She's had enough of this running around!

Heero dropped his hand and met her gaze. She's demanding today! "What is it?"

"Were you serious?" There, she asked it. 

"Serious? About what?" Heero frowned at her, trying to figure it out.

Relena sighed then looked down at the ground. This was like talking to a three year old! "Serious about me teaching you how to feel… because Heero," She looked at his face once again. "I cannot do anything if you keep on ignoring me."

Once again, cat got his tongue. All right, so he had been ignoring her… "Excuse me. Habit." He saw Relena cringe and he instantly wanted to take those words back. He didn't mean it that way… it was habit of trying not to notice her! Not habit of ignoring her!

"Uhm… yeah… Habit… of course." A slicing pain echoed its path through her and she tried her best to school her face to show indifference.

He began to stutter. God only knows it was the first time this happened! "I- I mean-"

"No, it's alright, Heero. You don't need to explain. I completely understand." She gave him one of her best smiles- one that she uses when she wants to cry instead- but it was too late as she felt those irritating tears. "Uhm… you know, if you… Please, excuse me… I… I don't think… Excuse me." 

She quickly walked past him, back into the house while Heero stared after her retreating form, feeling completely helpless and totally disgusted with himself for hurting her feelings. But what should he do? 

'What?'

__

'Don't hold yourself back.'

Her words echoed in his mind and then his feet moved to the direction she took. Minutes later, he stood outside her bedroom door, not knowing what to do. Heero pushed his shoulders back then, as if walking to his death, knocked.

"Just put the tray on the floor, Buena. Thank you." 

Heero pushed his hand through his hair. Great! Now she thinks he's Buena. He knocked once again. "Relena… It's me…. Heero." 

From inside, Relena wiped her tears away in swift, jerky movements, using the corner of her blanket. 'Yeah, as if someone else has that voice in this house, right?' She breathed in deeply before she answered. "I'm… a bit busy, Heero. What is it?"

Heero glared at the door. Hell if he's going to pour his words to an inanimate object! "Open the door."

Relena wiped her face once again then turned to her other side so she wouldn't look at her door. "I'm busy!"

"Open it or I'm going to knock it down." His clear threat made Relena throw her pillow at the door and the soft thud made Heero wonder what was happening inside. 

Not wanting any of her part time servants to have something to talk about, she went to the door and opened it with eyes fixed on the floor. "That was an unfair threat. Now what is it? I am a bit busy at the moment and would really like to be alone."

She gasped when Heero's hand tilted her chin up to make her face him. "You're crying." The observation just came. It was idiotic of him to say such an obvious fact.

"_Was._ I was. Is there something wrong with that? The last time I heard, there wasn't any law that prohibits a person from such an act. Of course, you can correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Yuy." She's covering her pain with anger, but who cares? She was still pacified, wasn't she? Slight anger does not necessarily mean that she was turning away from Pacifism. Even a pacifist was allowed to feel anger, so long as it is controlled. And she's in control, right?!

"No. It isn't wrong." Heero felt like kicking himself at the moment. He had been callous? Wonder if he was worse before…

Relena saw him look away, look back, breathe in deeply, and then bite his lower lip before he reached out to tenderly touch a cheek where a wet trail of tears was still obvious. Her lips trembled at the gentle touch and she instantly pulled away to look down at the floor. It wasn't fair that she had tears while he had none. It just wasn't!

"I wanted to…" Heero breathed in deeply. He did this before, right? Why was it so hard to tell her? "… apologize." He looked away.

Relena's eyes widened and she slowly looked up to his face. She saw that slight uncertainty in his eyes once again but this time it stayed on longer than before. The mere fact that he was apologizing… Sad to say, but her heart softened like putty. She had never thought to hear an apology from Heero's lips...

He waited… It seemed like forever before she spoke once again but it was worth it. That heavy feeling he had was lifted.

"Apology accepted, Heero." 

Her whispery voice of forgiveness was enough. It almost made him smile, but habit stopped it. He nodded instead. "And…"

Relena waited for whatever it was he wanted to add.

After some time, he was finally able to blurt it out. "I still want you to teach me." 

A small smile gave way upon Relena's lips and Heero… was that relief when it seemed like pounds of weight was taken off your chest?

"The last device was set, am I correct?" She waited for his nod before she continued. "My servants won't be back until Monday morning. We could go to the park tomorrow and try to have your first lesson." She hesitated for a moment, unaware of his schedule. "That is, if you don't have anything planned."

Heero shook his head. "No. I have none."

"All right. That's settled." She stepped away from the door, ending their conversation. "Buena is still downstairs. She has dinner set for you. I will not join you tonight, but please eat to your heart's content."

He nodded and took a step back also.

"Good night, Heero." Relena whispered before she closed her door without a sound.

Heero stared at the closed door then, as if it was wrenched from his lips, he also whispered the words he was been holding back. "Konbanwa, Relenasan. Genki okitte kudasai."

She looked around her room. There were still some boxes on one corner that she has yet to open, but they could wait. Her eyes traveled from her windowsill, where the plant Heero gave her in China town was, then to the small teddy bear, snuggled right in the middle of the bed and then she shook her head. "Heero… what do you really want?

****

…

"No… please… I don't want to go to a conference…" Relena sleepily grabbed a pillow with one hand and placed it over her head while her other hand slapped down on her alarm clock. The ringing sound stopped.

Then it came again.

Heero woke up and scowled. A ringing doorbell in the middle of the night wasn't exactly how he would like to start his day. Damn! He wouldn't have cared a long time ago, but he wanted sleep so badly. It was the first decent sleep he had since he came to this house! Wait… how did they get past security? Granted, he didn't finish coding and programming some of the devices… Still! In a bolt, he was up from his bed.

Slowly, Relena got out of her bed and grabbed her robe. She finally realized that the incessant ringing was really her doorbell. "Who could be outside at this time in the morning?" She checked her clock and saw that it was only—Four?! With sleep-dulled mind, she walked out of her room, yawning, and was checking the knot on her robe when she bumped against something and nearly fell down. 

Firm hands enveloped her waist and stabilized her balance. She hastily looked up and found Heero's face, so near her own. "Er… morning."

Heero nodded. For some reason, his heartbeat notched up and his breathing sort of… "Good morning." He had never seen her just woken up before, and she looked beautifully vulnerable.

She quickly glanced down, not wanting to look at his stupidly handsome face since she could already feel her quickened heartbeat, and stared into his bare, muscled chest instead… God! That didn't help! Relena instantly looked away. 'Oh Lord!' Relena swallowed. "Uh… I think there's someone at the door."

Heero finally let go her small waist and forced his body to turn. He should not stare at the creamy valley of her chest like a hungry wolf! He should not! "I'm going to check it."

"I'll go with you." Relena piped as she followed him, trying very hard to tug the V of her robe together.

"No. Stay there." 

His voice hinted finality but Relena just ignored it. "I'm going. It's my house."

Heero heard her soft, padded footsteps follow him and grimaced. She never listens. A hand went to the doorknob while another went behind him. Relena's eyebrow shot up as she saw Heero grab hold of a gun. She shook her head. Why should she be surprised? 

With only the swish of her silk robes to tell Heero about her movements, she tiptoed to look over his shoulder while he opened the door.

"Good morning!"

"Yo! We're here to invade the fort- Holy! Have you two been sleeping together?!!!"

{AN: Konbanwa: Good Evening. Genki okitte kudasai: Please sleep well. I wanted to put this story in a different link under ffnet, but when I reviewed the rules and regulations, I knew it wasn't possible. The Conclusion will tie all fiction together, therefore, according to ffnet rules, I must have the stories together. I've forgotten to say some things in the last few chaps—Disclaimers ^^ and Take Care everyone. I hope you all are well.}


	16. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 4

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Four  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

Relena's eyes widened. 

Heero's jaw slackened. 

Hilde stared at Duo and Duo's mouth fell open.

From the corner of her eyes, Relena saw Heero's muscles bunch up together, very much like Wufei's body language whenever he wants to knock Duo to another state, but before he could take a step forward she blocked him while Hilde went in front of Duo.

"Duo, it isn't any of your concern if Heero and I sleep together."

__

That nearly made Heero's jaw fall. He even forgot to kill Duo at the moment.

"Of course, it isn't, is it Honey?" Hilde agreed, her voice edged sharply, almost like a knife.

"Heh, heh, heh… Of course not… Uhm… I was just joking." He cleared his throat nervously. "You know 'Hah- hah- hah'…?" Duo couldn't believe he said that! But the thing was… Heero was barely clothed and Relena was just in her… Heck! What's a man to think?!

Heero and Relena saw Hilde smile at them and, at the same time, elbow Duo. 

Duo cringed. He was going to get it from her later. Gads!

Slowly, Heero's anger diminished. Hilde looked like someone who wouldn't let Duo get away with anything- good!

Relena cheerfully grinned at Hilde, trying to forget what just happened. "I'm so glad you guys were able to make it. Why didn't you call? We could have picked you up from your hotel."

"Oh, Duo didn't want to disturb you guys. He also had fun dismantling some of the devices back there… took him nearly two hours though."

"No worries! I have them back on line!" Duo quipped from behind Hilde before Heero could glare at him.

"You mean to tell me you two have been out there since…!" Surprise showed in her blue green eyes then she shook her head. Duo and Hilde are… unique, especially if they could stand dismantling a mechanism for hours! "Well, how about we get you settled in the guest rooms?"

"Rooms? You mean to tell me that you're gonna separate me and my sweetheart?!" Duo's mocked hurt voice, coupled with his comical painful face, was enough to liven the mood.

Relena laughed gaily. It's so wonderful to have them around! "Do you need help with the bags?" Relena offered as she glanced at the two carry on bags.

"No thanks, Relena. Duo's got it." Hilde turned to Duo and smiled at him. "Don't you, hun?"

Heero's eyebrow shot up just as Relena's grin widened.

Duo lovingly smiled at Hilde. "Anything for you, luv." He turned and instantly grabbed the two suitcases and five bags that lay on the ground. "Where to, former Queen of the world?"

"Just follow me." Relena turned and quickly smiled at Heero. "Don't start… I don't want any fighting." Relena whispered just for his ears to hear.

Heero didn't answer, still a bit startled with what Relena had 'hinted' upon. Half of his brain was already picturing Relena snug in bed while the other half checked Duo and Hilde… He never truly saw them in action together, except once… He never really knew how Hilde felt about Duo but he had seen Duo's feelings for Hilde. How those two got together? Well, whoever was watching a certain channel saw- and he was one of them.

"Duo, Hilde, Heero and I are going to the park later on today. Do you want to go with us?" Relena's voice cut through his musings.

"Sure! I love parks!" Hilde cried out enthusiastically.

"Anywhere my Hilde goes, I go." Duo promptly answered.

Heero nearly gawked at Duo. It was corny but… dare he say it? Sweet… He caught sight of 'the look' that Hilde sent Duo and… was it envy when you want that same look directed to you so badly?

"I hope you'll like this room, Hilde. Duo, yours is the one right behind us." Relena motioned to the other white door. She figured that she should put those two as near to each other's bedroom as possible.

"Perfect!" Hilde gushed as she saw the beautiful room. It was the kind of room girls dreams were made of- plush sky blue carpeting with a canopy bed and classical white dressers strategically placed around the area. It was pure femininity.

"Alright with me!" Duo said at the same time. Relena must have hired a male interior designer, too, since his bedroom had a very subtle masculine trace. Dark mahogany bureaus along with a sturdy looking king bed with navy blue sheets. The room was wonderful, but his attention was too focused on his lovely wife. He's not gonna be in the same room with his Hilde, but at least he'll be near enough.

"I'll arrange my stuff inside and then help make breakfast." Hilde announced as she pushed her suitcase inside.

"Oh, that's all right." Relena shook her head. "I can do it myself."

Heero couldn't believe his ears as he stared at Relena. '_She_? Do it herself?' Heero thought, incredulously. Then again… he had thought that she always had servants around her, now he knows that she gives them Fridays to Sundays off… Hmmm… Time to observe how the real Relena operates…

"Nah, it's okay, Relena. I want to." She turned to face a grinning Duo and gave him a knowing smile. "Don't start the show without me."

"Of course not. I would never do it without you." Duo answered before he stepped in front of her and then quickly, but thoroughly, kissed Hilde right on the lips.

Relena looked away but Heero curiously observed the act. He could never really imagine why two people do such an unhygienic act. What could it accomplish?

"See yah in a bit, doll." Duo smiled down at Hilde's face then forced his feet to take his aroused body into his room while his heart stayed with the woman he loved.

Hilde watched until his door closed then, with a funny smile directed towards Heero and Relena, she walked into her own room and finally closed the door.

"What was that about?" The question left his lips before he could stop it.

Relena sighed, a bit happy, a bit sad. "Love." She faced the stairs and started to walk to the kitchen while Heero followed right behind her. Duo and Hilde were her friends, but she couldn't help but feel jealous right now. How horrid of her, but… who wouldn't envy those two?

"Love isn't real. It's an illusion people make themselves believe. It is a means to an end." The words weren't really his, but it became a part of his reasoning, his thoughts, ever since he could remember…

The words stopped Relena and she instantly turned to face him. Heero nearly plowed against her but he stopped in time and saw a pained look in her eyes.

"If you believe what you just told me, then… you… will never be able to feel the best emotion of all."

"Why, Relena?" Heero met her gaze. "Have you ever been in love? Was it that good?" He saw her eyes widen and then she looked down. 

'Yes… I've been…' Unable to meet his eyes, lest he saw something, she answered. "Maybe." She turned away from him and continued towards the kitchen. 

For a moment, Heero didn't move. Maybe, she said… Why, then, does he have this twisting feeling at the pit of his stomach? He followed her. Emotions… such a waste of energy, and yet here he was, trying to understand. "Relena… tell me."

She knew… somehow, she knew that he was going to ask… How could she describe it? "Heero, when you fall in love, you're hit with a multitude of feelings… There may be satisfaction, excitement, wild happiness, and eagerness, but there could also be anger, frustration, discontent, hesitancy, loneliness, jealousy, envy and more. Sometimes, it occurs all at once… sometimes, one at a time."

"So, it isn't always happiness… It doesn't give total satisfaction, but people still want it." Strange world… strange people. 

Relena shook her head… He could be so innocently dumb for someone who was so smart. "Heero, it is being in love that they want. To feel all those things, I suppose… But sometimes, people don't look for it. It just finds them. People adapts to these feelings just as they adapt to their surroundings, to the situation they're facing, and their mates…"

"And what if they don't adapt to the situation or their mates?" Heero prodded on. Their topic of conversation finally garnered his interest.

"Then they will be unhappy." Relena shrugged. 'As I was before…' She didn't speak any more, and Heero, feeling her want for silence, kept silent… She purposely ignored him while she made scrambled eggs and bacon over the stove, and focused on Duo's large appetite instead.

"Heeeeey! I smell bacon!" Duo excitedly ran into the kitchen. He was met with both a glare and a warm, friendly smile. Ignoring the glare, he walked to Relena and gave her a hug while she added a new batch of bacon into the pan.

"Oh! Duo!" Relena laughed as she hugged him back.

"I wasn't able to give you my hello hug, gurl. So, how's everything been?" Duo slyly looked at Heero from under his bangs and he saw his friend seethe. Score One!!!

"Doing fine as ever. Thanks. Heero's been taking quite good care of me."

"Relena, sorry it took me so long." Hilde suddenly appeared from the other side of the kitchen. Duo instantly let go of Relena and went beside Hilde to wrap a possessive arm around her waist. "How can I help?"

"Keep your man away from the food. That'll be all the help I'll need." Relena teasingly pouted at Duo.

Hilde laughed. "Oh come on. You could have asked Heero to do that for you."

"What the-! Are you on my side or what? You want me to die?!" Duo protested as he saw Heero switch from 'get away from her' to a more dangerous glare.

Hilde and Relena just laughed. 

"I'm always on your side. But you sit down while I help Relena over there." Hilde pushed Duo to the other side of the table, farthest from Heero, then walked to the stove. "Do you have any extra rice or something?"

Hilde found what she needed with Relena's instructions and, in no time at all, a steaming plate of fried rice, bacon, and eggs sat in the middle of the table while Heero laid out the plates and Duo followed with the other kitchenwares. With a starting yell from Duo, the four started digging in.

****

…

"I think we picked a bad time." Heero glared at a couple on the grass, kissing as if there's no tomorrow… That's the sixth couple he had seen doing that so far, and he's getting angrier by the minute.

"No. We picked a perfect time." Relena smiled at an old couple, holding hands. She longed for that scene but it will never be. With a sigh, she looked at him. "I want you to observe everyone around you. Look at what they are doing… their facial expressions… Just observe. It's the best way to learn." She nodded to another couple who walked by them. "And Heero," 

Heero wondered why that smile made his heart beat questionably. He grunted his answer.

"Try not to look at it logically."

He felt his hands grow cold when Relena turned and walked away from him, leaving him. "Relena, where are you going?"

She turned her head to glance at him from over her shoulder and smiled encouragingly. "I'm going to sit on that bench. Don't worry about me, I won't be too far away."

He made sure that she reached the bench safely, that she was all by herself before he turned and started looking at the couples all around him, at the child playing with a balloon… at the seemingly brothers and sisters, playing tag. What was he looking for? Why was his heart pounding? Why was he sweating?

Relena watched him with a slight smile, legs crossed, elbows upon her leg, and chin cupped in her hands. For the first time, she was able to look at him, to observe him… How could she have missed such telltale signs of emotions on him? Probably because she used to only look at people's faces for their reactions… Ah well, people learn… What had happened to him these past few years? Ten years is such a long time… 

'Oh Heero…' She shook her head lightly. He thinks he doesn't have any emotions… how wrong of him… But even so… 'I love you just the way you are.' She thought of what Wufei had told her about him, once… What Heero mentioned when they were fighting each other over the ocean so long ago... It makes a person wonder, and open one's eyes to a different man-

A tug at her long skirt and a gurgle of giggles made Relena look down to a cherubim face. 

Relena's smile widened. "Hi there, darling."

"Kelsie! You disturbed the lady." 

Relena looked up and saw the 'mother' reach her side to scoop 'Kelsie' from the grass. "Oh no… It's all right."

"I'm sorry about that." The mother gave an apologetic smile. "I was looking after the other kids." She pointed to the three other children playing tag at the other side of the park.

Relena laughed, drawing Heero's attention. "Really, it's fine." She looked at the baby. "How old is she?"

"Sixteen months."

Relena saw pride in her face. "Would it be alright if I hold her for a few minutes?"

She must have seen something in her eyes because agreed to let her hold the baby. "Kelsie, be a good girl now…"

Heero watched as Relena cuddled the baby who seemed to laugh the moment she touched her. He watched as Relena kissed the baby, touch her nose with the baby's button nose, and smile in a very different way… 

"Excuse me, but… you look like someone…" The mother started to say as she stared at Relena.

Relena just smiled at her. "My name is Relena. A pleasure to meet you and your child."

Heero watched them, aware of the conversation and saw how the mother's jaw slackened. Then, right at that moment, the baby started suckling at Relena's chin! It was a funny, and at the same time, touching scene as Relena laughed and gently took her chin away while the mother fussed about, trying to bring a diaper to light.

Who wouldn't smile at such a sight? Relena wiped her chin on her sleeve- so unladylike of her. People would have never thought she'd do that… at least, not him.

The mother brought out a rubber nipple and Relena gave it to the baby who instantly took her attention away from Relena's blonde locks and focused on the new toy. 

"Cute, huh?" 

"I think Relena is going to be a wonderful mother someday…" 

Heero nearly jolted at the sudden voices by his side. How did these two get near him without him seeing them?

Suddenly, Relena looked over to their side and waved. An idea popped in her head and she mouthed Heero's name, knowing he could read her lips, then motioned for him to come over. 

A frown appeared on his face and confusion churned in him, but he willingly complied and walked to the siren's silent call.

Duo and Hilde watched from where they stood as Relena introduced the baby to Heero and then made him sit right beside her. Finally, to everyone's surprise and delight, she gently gave the baby to Heero.

"Just hold her and try not to scowl." Relena whispered until she was sure that the baby was secure in Heero's arms.

A look of confusion appeared on Kelsie's cherubim face and then she reached out to hold on to Heero's bangs with two-fisted hands. Relena laughed while Heero frowned.

"Hey, stop that."

Relena noticed that his voice was softer. The way he was holding the baby under the arms, away from his body- it was so adorable! "Heero, bring her to your chest."

"What?" Heero turned to her and she could see the plain look of confusion in his eyes. She stood up and walked behind him. 

Heero's frown became more pronounced while the baby seemed to enjoy the look on his face as another gurgle of squeals escaped her lips.

Oh, she shouldn't have done it, but she couldn't stop herself. If this was the only time she could hold his hands, then she would take her chance… She reached out and touched his hands, her arms over his shoulders, then guided his hands to his chest, to bring the baby to his shoulder… to secure the baby in his arms… and to embrace him at the same time.

A gentle, wonderful feeling he had never felt before enveloped Heero as he embraced the now still baby while Relena's arms were around them, almost like hugging them both. Her breasts were like a pillow to his head and her soft hands, still over his own, like an anchor to this wonderful world he suddenly felt himself a part of.

Relena couldn't help herself as she leaned her cheek against Heero's hair while he leaned back to nestle in her embrace.

"They look like family…" Hilde whispered as she stared at the scene. Even with the mother beside Heero and Relena, they still looked like… family.

"I wonder when he'll realize that they're perfect for each other." Duo whispered along with her.

Hilde sighed as Relena closed her eyes, cheek still pressed against Heero's hair. She could feel Relena's ache... "I wish he would just take her in his arms and kiss her and never let her go." 

A gleam appeared in Duo's eyes. "Now there's an idea…" He turned to Hilde just as she turned to him. "Like this?" Duo pounced at Hilde but she quickly stepped back, evading him.

"Gotta catch me first, slowpoke!" Hilde playfully yelled as she ran away.

"Slowpoke!? Who's the slowpoke!?" Duo ran after her, laughing like there's no trouble in the world, just like the couple with the baby on the bench, enjoying their short moment of intimacy…

{_Heartfire's Note: Hello everyone! For those who wrote to me either through email and reviews, thank you so much for the compliments. They are wonderful. I know that my friends, Obsolete Love, Kit, and Phoenix are showing it to their ML groups, and I wanted to thank them too because they're advertising for my behalf. I hope you all are enjoying yourself. Remember, every week, 2 chapters are added because that is my quota ^^ Take care!_} 


	17. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 5

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Five  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

'Where is she?!' Heero nearly overturned a table with barely contained anger. 'How could she have eluded twenty four cameras all over this house?!'

"Yo! Heero!" Duo ran into the hall and then skidded to a halt as Heero's murderous glare settled on him. "WHOA! Hey! I didn't do anything!" He held up his hands in total surrender while his huge violet eyes showed playful panic.

"Just get out of my way." The words were low and barely got out of his tightly clenched jaw while he walked past Duo.

Duo frowned and scratched his head. "Eh… Heero… can I help?"

"No!" The growl sounded like a lion's roar and Duo's eyebrows shot up as he followed Heero silently. "Duo stay away from me! Dammit!" Where is she?!

It was just a grumble, but Duo still heard it and he couldn't help but smile. Plan B worked its charm! Hehehe… Heero never even knew that he was the one who did something to the cameras just so he could see how his friend would react. 'And my, my… He sure is responding quite to the point.'

Duo cleared his throat and Heero turned around in anger. "I told you to-"

"You wanna find Relena?" Duo grinned as he saw Heero do a double take. Bulls eye! His friend sure was having a harder time covering his face with his unemotional mask. 'Goody!' 

"What do you know." It was more of a demand than a question.

"Well… since you told me to leave you alone…" Duo turned sideways and then started to whistle. Hands gripped his collar in a strangle hold and Duo felt himself being shaken.

"Duo, I'm not in the mood right now so, if you know something, just spit it out and leave me alone." Duo really knows how to get him riled up- damn man knows that he's partial to Relena.

Duo nodded- if you call barely tilting your head up and down a nod! He was suddenly let go, and the glorious feel of air through his nose and lungs was enough to make him kneel and praise the Lord.

"Now, where did she go." It wasn't a question- more of an order.

Duo shrugged. "I know that she likes making her art by herself… I thought I saw her walk into her shed earlier."

'Art? What art?' Heero wondered. "The cameras didn't show anything."

'Excuse… excuse… What's my excuse… ah!' Duo smiled sheepishly. "Er… you see… uhm… Hilde and I kinda was doing our… uh… _thing_… and I didn't want you to get a hold of those footage- Hey! Where are you going?!" Duo pouted as he watched Heero walk out of the house without even answering. "Gee… Don't I even get a thank you?!" Heero didn't look back at him, but he expected it. Then, with a shrug and a victorious grin, he continued his trek to the kitchen.

****

…

'What's in there?' The small tool shed came in sight and Heero frowned as he tried to remember what he saw in there nearly two months ago. 'Nothing…' If there's nothing there… what the heck is she doing in there? And… what art?

He heard a whirring sound and didn't even bother to knock when he opened the door. An eyebrow shot up from beneath his tousled hair while his eyes stared at the sight in front of him… Relena- and for the first time in nearly ten years- her legs were uncovered for his eyes to see… The last time he'd seen her legs, he had been too focused on his mission- and damn! She's got legs!

He gulped, his throat suddenly dry, and Relena? Relena hadn't noticed that he came in and continued to working on the vase, going round and round on the table with her hands delicately curving it here and –

"Oh! Heero!" 

The vase, already up to her elbow, became a lump of clay in less than a few seconds and slowly, the table stopped turning.

He looked up from her perfect legs- thankfully the small table was situated between her open legs as if inviting him to- damn! Did he say thankfully?! Heero forced his eyes not to look down and focused on her surprised, mud streaked face instead. What the hell was wrong with him?! Why'd he suddenly think of her like… Argh!

"I… ah… Is there any trouble?" She wiped her hands with a damp cloth that hung on the backrest behind her, and then quickly stood up. Her long skirt, hiked up her legs so she could position the table between her legs, fell down with a swish. The shed, already small, seemed smaller. She hated it when he surprises her like this!

He forced himself not to think about it- no more! – and focused on the small figurines on the table near him. "I didn't know that you do…" Heero looked around. "This."

Relena smiled happily, finally settling her roundabout feelings. "It's a hobby of mine. I learned how to do pottery from Pagan to practice my patience. It is soothing."

Heero looked at the small pieces of clay and vases. He had wondered why there were new bookshelves in this old shed. Now he knows… 

"Would you like to look around?" Relena hesitantly asked as she walked to Heero's side. "They aren't much… more like a work of a fourth grader, but-"

"No… they're…" He didn't want to say it but, as he looked at the pieces, the lines just right… "Good." More than good, actually! Beautiful! And the mere fact that he usually does not have time to appreciate art, then this…!

"Thank you." Relena whispered as the compliment washed over her like warm syrup over a hot batch of pancakes. She took a few steps to stand beside Heero and then her eyes widened as she saw three pieces she didn't want him to see… But, too late… Heero walked up to the first two pieces…

"I… I could never get them right… It's a bit hard, trying to do it by memory." 

Heero shook his head as he reached for the other two pieces of small statues- Wing and Zero… She got them right to the last detail- even the colors… What did she mean they weren't right? "Relena, the harshest critic is oneself." He knew from experience, missions, and more.

She was about to put away the third piece when what he said caught Relena's attention and she looked at him. She saw something she couldn't quite understand. "Why don't you think about what you said, Heero?"

He turned to face her and was about to answer when the figurine on the lower shelf caught his eye. For a moment, that terrible memory enveloped his suddenly numbed mind.

Relena turned, but she already knew what made his face suddenly pale… The figurine of a dog and a little girl… Granted that she only heard 'a little girl and a dog' without any other description when she finally pried that little tidbit from Wufei… She just used her imagination. When she was younger, she had wanted a small dog, too… So she basically thought of herself and used the image that came to mind to make this only single memory of Heero's past that she knew about.

"Does it remind you of something?" Relena tried to venture through this choppy situation. Maybe if he talked about it…

Does it remind him of something? Almost all too well… Too much-

"RELENA! C'MON!" Duo suddenly appeared from nowhere, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the shed.

"Duo! What-?"

Hilde's laughter rang out while Heero's eyes followed Duo and a too-stunned-to-struggle Relena. He saw Relena stiffen when she saw the pool where Hilde, still in her clothes, was swimming in, and before she could protest, Duo pushed her into the pool.

Her playful scream and then the hearty splash made Heero smile. Funny… it's the first time he's ever smiled after he remembered that little girl… He watched as Duo jumped into the pool, still in his jeans and shirt, before he turned away from the happy scene and faced the little girl's figurine. 

It didn't look anything at all like the little girl he knew. For one, this girl does not have a hat… but the way the girl held on to the dog… the way the grass had flowers painted over it… it just reminded him of her.

His first lesson about emotions… and his last… 

Now, as he looked at the figurine, he couldn't feel that turbulent emotion anymore… He felt more… peaceful… For the first time… It wasn't that he had forgotten. The pain was still there in his heart, but it wasn't as agonizing.

"HEY HEEEEROOOO!!!! COME OUT OF THAT SHED AND JOIN US!!!" Duo's yell carried itself three houses away.

Heero grimaced without its usual malice then walked out of the shed to face the pool. "No thanks. Someone must look after three adults who are making fools of themselves."

Relena smiled at him, feeling rather mischievous. "Sometimes, it's better to be a fool than to be the smart one. At least the fool gets to have fun."

Hilde laughed. "Hear ye! Hear ye! That's telling him, Rel!"

Heero just shook his head and sat on one of the seats around the pool, content to just observe the three- although most of his attention was focused on Relena as she laughed, splashed Duo with water and… everything else…

****

…

He watched as she lay on her back to stare at the splash of colors in the sky. 

"Relena, get out of there. It's getting cold." Heero stood up and walked to the edge of the pool to glare at her.

She just smiled at him. "No thanks… I like it… I'm not cold." Her waist length hair swayed with the small ripples in the water… It was mesmerizing. 

"You're going to get sick. Why don't you follow what Duo and Hilde just did a while ago?" Why couldn't he just go in there and pluck her out of the water?

"Duo and Hilde were hungry. That's why they left. I'm not hungry and I'm not cold. Thank you." She averted her eyes from him while her hands danced by her side to keep her afloat. 

She didn't know that she looked like a water sprite even with her ankle length cotton dress that was, thankfully, double layered, or else, he'd be seeing more than he… Heero shook his head. She almost looks surreal… "Relena-"

"Heero, it seemed like only yesterday when I picked roses for the house… and now its autumn… How time flies, doesn't it?" She glanced down at him once again. Somehow, it felt as if she's oddly not herself. Maybe because when you're in the water, you feel… light…

Heero nodded. "Yes. Now get out of there."

"No." Relena answered promptly, obstinately. "If you wish to leave, I am not stopping you." God only knew how much she tried to do that before, and she never had been successful. 

Heero's lips pursed. "When did you become so stubborn?"

"Ever since I could remember…" She closed her eyes, not really caring about the world at the moment. "Why do you think I get into so much trouble? Because I'm stubborn…"

A cold breeze swept down upon them. Heero's hair swayed. Trained to endure all types of weather, he didn't care, but Relena shivered and it only took another breeze to make her give up and stand in the pool. 

"Okay, it's cold… I'm going…" Getting sick was not on her agenda. Slowly, she waded to the shallow side, waiting for her feet could touch the tiles. She tried her best to keep her skirt down until she finally reached the front of the stairs while Heero glared down at her. 

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm doing what you want me to do- I'm getting out of the pool." Relena pouted as she took her first step, but her long, sodden dress, coupled with the slippery tiles, made her slip. Her hands went out to grab the first thing she could hold on to so she wouldn't fall-

Hands.

Her tumble stopped. She glanced up, thankful, and stared into Heero's impassive face with the hint of impatience in his eyes. "Come on. You can't even get your balance straight. That's what you get for spending too much time in the water." 

There must have been something wrong with her… there must have been something in the air, but as she said before, it felt as if she wasn't herself and she smirked at him. An impish idea formed in her mind and before he knew it, she pulled him into the pool with her.

They both fell down with a loud splash. Relena quickly burst out of the water, unable to believe that cute expression of wide eyed surprise on Heero's face. It was the first time she'd ever seen such an expression on him and she relished repeating the scene in her mind while she laughed heartily, gulping down some water in the process. She lost her balance, went down then came up sputtering only to face a wet, glaring Heero… his hair nearly covering his face. 

The sight only made her laugh some more, even after his hand came up to comb back his hair. "You look funny! So that's what you look like when you take a bath." She met his glare with a wide smile.

"You're going to be sorry you did that." Heero muttered, not feeling angry at all. Actually, he feels so… alive! His whole body was tingling with anticipation.

"Yeah? And what will you do?" Relena looked at him saucily. "I bet your gun is wet too."

"I don't need a gun to do-"

Relena's eyes widened as she saw his lightning fast hands spread out.

"This!" 

A huge spray of water hit Relena and she screamed playfully as she turned away, and tried to meet his attack with some of her own. She knew that she couldn't do it and dived into the water instead to go behind him for a sneak attack. But Heero saw her and did the same thing. She broke out of the water only to meet an empty pool. It didn't take a genius to figure out- Relena gasped as hands enveloped her waist and a spray of water hit her face. Heero's face loomed in front of her, a playful smile on his lips.

"I've caught you."

Relena grinned as she placed her hands on his wet clothed shoulders. "Hmm… And what are you going to do about it?" 

His smile never left his lips, but in a way, he didn't know that he was smiling. All he knew was that he felt so good, so alive. "I don't know yet… I'm trying to decide whether to torture you," He sprayed water on her face and Relena instantly closed her eyes before the water could get into her eyes. "Tickle you," His grin widened as Relena struggled and squealed in laughter when one of his hands, still on her waist, started tickling her. He liked doing that- making her laugh. "Or…"

He stopped tickling her, but the way he was looking down at her… She shuddered and couldn't be quite sure if that was the reason she was breathing as though she just ran a race.

A different smile lighted her face… so different from what was usually on her lips that it… made him catch his breath. He was beginning to feel dizzy, and he knew he was acting strange, but he liked it… he wants this.

"Or what?" Relena whispered as her hands slowly slipped down from his shoulders to his chest… she could feel his hard muscles… his heartbeat… his hard nipples under her palm, under his wet shirt… his heat seeping into her cold hands…

Stars slowly appeared overhead while the moon waited for the wind to uncover its blanket of clouds… His smile disappeared, replaced by a serious look and Relena suddenly noticed how close he was to her… The way they stood was so much more intimate, just an inch away with their lower torso meshed against each other… When was the last time they were this close? Before he completely disappeared from her life nearly ten years ago…

She moved her hands, suddenly shy and touched his jaw instead. She felt how tense he was and hoped that her own anxiety was not showing. "Heero… what are you thinking of?" Her other hand brushed back a wet lock of dark brown hair from his face, as though he was a little boy, but she was fully aware that he wasn't. God! She doesn't want this moment to end!

"The last or…" Heero answered. What was he feeling? He wants to hold her closer… to touch her lips with his… As if his hands had a life of their own. One went around her sinuous waist, to pull her closer to him... to take out that small agonizing distance between them, while another hand went behind to the back of her neck to cup her head.

Relena's eyes widened but she didn't struggle… How many times had she dreamt and wished for this to happen? She met his eyes openly, to show him that there was no hesitation- not from her.

He didn't think any more and let his compelled instincts be his guide. Heero lowered his head and met her soft, inviting lips. His eyes slowly closed, just as Relena's eyelashes touched her wet cheeks, and a sigh escaped from her lips into his. 

Everything seemed so right… as if this was what was meant to be… as if this was what reality should be…

Heero nibbled at her lower lip and Relena opened willingly so he could plunge into her and take whatever it was he needed, and more… She wanted him to take more. He tightened his hold on her and her hands went around his shoulders to hold his head in place as their tongue dueled, played, and sought… 

Their foreheads touched as they gasped for air, both almost lost in bliss and something they could not understand. Relena's eyes were still closed but Heero's was opened to watch Relena's parted, red, just kissed lips, draw in her breath. He felt proud- so wonderful- seeing how she struggled for air, though he was doing the same thing… 

She opened her eyes and met his. 

He slowly smiled at her… 

She joyfully smiled at him… 

Everything was just… perfect- at least, for now.

So this was why people touch lips. He could still feel a slight, memorable tingle upon his lips and felt the need to do it once again. "I liked doing that." Heero drew back, just a small distance away. He couldn't seem to get his body to move far away from her.

"So did I." Relena whispered while her heart sang an indecipherable song.

They stared at each other, taking in each other's expressions, wanting to know where they stood now.

"I'd like to do it again…" Heero couldn't believe what he was saying, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He really liked it. Kissing was weird but… wonderful… almost like a very relaxing drug.

Damn but she's loosing herself in his Prussian blue eyes… Reason… she must remember… "Is that… what you want? What you _feel_ you want to do?"

She saw a moment's hesitation in his eyes and then he stared at her steadily once again. Heero saw her flushed face, more beautiful to him than ever before… Right then and there, he knew… A tentative smile left his face and he almost lied, but staring into her blue green eyes… he couldn't. And though he knew he could easily say 'no', his body was likely to betray him by still taking her lips. What would she say after she hears his answer? "Yes. It is…"

Relena moved forward as she gently pulled his face down over hers. Where she got the courage to be so forward, she doesn't know… A woman in love was the only answer she could think of… Oh, she was taking a risky step… but it sure was worth it. "Then… you have my permission to kiss me anytime you wish, Heero Yuy." She whispered her answer to his lips, her warm breath tempting him once again…

"Relena..." He barely got the words out before their lips met and they savored each other once again, as though they could not get enough of each other… Something was happening to him… His body was flushed and his jeans were suddenly so uncomfortable because of the sudden heaviness- damn! What was this woman doing to him!? But he couldn't stop…

The water lapped against them as it waved to the cold night air… Slowly, the moon's face was unveiled, and now, she shone upon the blissful couple.

"It's cold." Heero whispered against her lips before interlocking it with his once again. How he knew, he couldn't be quite sure except that he shivered, for the first time in such a long time…

"Really? That's funny… I'm warm…" Relena whispered back as she felt a burning sensation go up, down, and all over her body. Her center pulsed, wanting more… such an aching pleasure…

'JEEZE! ARE YOU GUYS STILL OUT HERE??? COME ON OUT! IT'S FREEZING!!!" Duo cried out as he walked through the path towards the pool while he shivered in his boots. "HEERO! RELENA!"

Heero and Relena jumped away from each other as the voice penetrated the thick, hazy fog that had enveloped their brain. 

"I WANNA GO INSIDE! BUT NOOOO! HILDE JUST HAD TO SEND ME OUT HERE TO LOOK FOR BOTH OF YOU!" 

The pool was set with an eerie blue light from the automatic underwater bulbs and Heero and Relena was an arm's length away from each other when Duo came to view, pouting.

"Guys! What are you doing still in that pool?! You're going to get sick!" Duo scolded them as he held onto the flashlight with shaking hands. Too irritated, he didn't even question _why_ Heero was _with_ Relena _inside_ the pool!

A funny thought came to Relena and she chanced a glance at Heero. She grinned as he met her gaze and couldn't quite believe her eyes when he gave her a wicked wink. 

'Message received, dearest…' She probably looked stupid with that huge smile on her face but who cares!

The two faced Duo… then with a battle cry from Relena-

Inside the kitchen, Hilde, working with Maya over the stove, heard a distinctive-

"AAHHHHH!!!! NOOO!!! I'M WEEEEETTTTT!!!!!!"

{_Heartfire's Note: I just wanted to remind you all that there is a reason why this story is PG. Er... I will say that the PG's will come in very soon, so for those who does not like a bit of lime... All right, have fun, everyone!_} 


	18. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 6

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Six  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

He watched as Hilde and Relena walked around the garden from the balcony. Truth be told, he couldn't get enough of her- by sight, or by touch…

"Can't get enough of her, huh?" 

His thoughts, suddenly voiced out, nearly made him jump. Instead, he just turned and saw Duo with two bottles of beer.

"Heads up, Heero." 

A bottle soared in the air and Heero reached up and caught it with a firm grip. 

Duo nodded with a smile. "Nice catch."

Heero shrugged nonchalantly as he stared at the beer.

"Hey, it's not gonna bite you, yah know." Duo opened his bottle and took a sip from it.

Heero continued to stare at the bottle… When was the last time he drank beer? Nearly five years ago… A depressed person and booze… definitely a deadly combination. Ah well. He's got a hold on himself now… accepted that he wasn't the perfect soldier that he had once thought he was. Self-realization of weaknesses was hard to overcome… especially when one was confused and too drunk to think reasonably. He couldn't even remember why he turned to alcohol except that, whenever he passes out, he was given momentary peace… With a shrug, he pushed the metal cap off then instantly took a gulp. That was five years ago… a long time ago. He's got his life back. At least, he thinks he does.

"You know… I don't think I would ever get tired looking at my Hilde either." 

Heero turned to the sound and found Duo, leaning over the banister with one hand cupped under his chin while another held on to the beer. 

"She's one in a zil… I bet that's what you think of Relena, too."

Heero didn't answer, too confused as to what Duo was really talking about. 

Duo turned when Heero didn't answer and saw a nearly hidden mark of confusion on his face. "Heh… you still don't get it, do you, pardner?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Heero propped his elbows on the banister and took another gulp of beer.

"Course you don't… not yet anywayz…" Duo shrugged.

Heero's eyes slanted. He hated being in the dark, and right now, Duo was acting as if he knew something… important. "What do you mean?"

"Nuthin' much 'cept the truth… You still have to learn that one… Heh… it's gonna be one helluva bump to your head… I know it was to me."

"You better stop talking in riddles, Duo."

Duo glanced at Heero, his face serious. "Heero, I'm not talking in riddles… I never do… I say what I want to say and mean it."

Not for the first time did Heero saw a dangerous glint in Duo's eyes… but this time, it seemed more ruthless. 

"You better not hurt Relena, Heero."

Heero's eyes turned to dangerous slits. "I think you're confused. Isn't _your _'gurl', Hilde." It wasn't a question, and why was he suddenly defensive? 

The glitter in Duo's eyes intensified. When he made it his duty to get to know Relena after Heero left her bereft in the hospital… She was just so… God! He was just proud of the way she kept herself together even when he could see that it pained her so much… He never wants to see that look in her eyes again. Hilde, Quatre, and him did their best to influence the smile back on her face. The genuine smile, not the kind that didn't reach her eyes. But if Heero wipes that away again… "Hilde's _my_ gurl. Relena is _my_ friend… you are, too… But I'm warning you, Heero… You hurt her again and I'm going to pounce on your neck so fast, you wouldn't even know what hit you… That's going to be one fight you're gonna wish you never asked for."

Before Heero could answer, Duo turned away from him and left him on the balcony. He couldn't decide whether to go after him and demand an explanation or to just ignore what he said… He did neither. He turned back to Hilde and Relena, aware of how Duo's words still hung in the air… 'Hurt her again? What did he mean?' He saw Relena laugh with Hilde and his mood lightened.

Well, one thing was for certain… Duo's loyalty to Relena was pure…

She looked up and her eyes met his. She waved. He only nodded. The mere fact that she waved to him made his mood lighter, just as the mere fact that he acknowledged her was enough to double the shine in her eyes…

****

…

Hilde grinned as she saw the look that passed between the two. Purposely turning away from Heero and pushing Relena around so he wouldn't be able to read their lips, she excitedly asked her friend for bits and pieces. "So, what's been happening? Something changed between you two… I can see it."

Relena shook her head while a smile played on her lips. "Honestly Hilde… you're being as curious as Duo." What would she do without her friends? Lord! She felt like giggling!

Hilde shrugged. "That's okay with me. I want to know what's up."

Her cheerful smile slowly disappeared as Relena looked into the darkness of her garden. "He thinks he doesn't have emotions…"

"And what do you think?" Hilde asked as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Relena looked up at Heero then at Hilde. "I think he just need to accept that he does. He doesn't know it but he shows so much… even when I first met him, so long ago… You could see it… The way he tried to be strong- and he is strong- but what I mean is… Oh I don't know… I can't explain it…"

Hilde grinned. "I know what you mean…" Hilde paused to let a few minutes pass by while she thought of her husband. Should she tell Relena that her marriage was real? No… This talk should be about them, not her "So, anything else happening between the two of you?"

The way Hilde stated the question… She knew exactly what her friend was asking and couldn't help the dreamy look that came upon her face. "Nothing much…"

Hilde's eyebrow shot up. "Nothing much, she says… It's been over a month of smiles and looks between you two, and she says 'nothing much'!"

Relena didn't answer. So, Hilde noticed. She was pretty sure that Duo noticed, too… But how could she stop a smile from appearing whenever she lays eyes on him? How could she stop a 'look' especially when… there's a stolen kiss under the moonlit sky… inside the shed… below a tree…? A meaningful look… Mind numbing kisses…

"Relena, I don't want you to get hurt."

Hilde's concerned voice reached into her giddy mind, and she instantly landed upon solid ground. Relena faced Hilde and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Part of life is being hurt, Hilde… You can't have happiness without pain…" A sigh left her lips before she could continue. "I know I'm only getting my hopes up… I know that I'm going to get hurt in the end… When Wufei relieves Heero of this assignment…" She couldn't even finish that sentence. She will not think of it until the time comes. Already, she could feel that biting loneliness and imagine that bleak future ahead. "I can't help it…" 

"Relena-"

"Hilde," Relena shook her head, stopping her friend's words. "I can't change who he is… I don't want to change him… I love him just the way he is… Knowing who he is..." She smiled understandingly while her eyes looked up at the sky. "I can only hope. I can only dream… Can you understand that?" 

Hilde's eyes shimmered as she saw the courage in Relena's eyes. Set determination… 

"I am not going to be selfish and want everything, Hilde… I'll just want today and live one a step at a time until it's over… then at least I'll have some memories to keep…" It wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing.

"You're stupid, Relena." Hilde whispered as she hugged her friend tightly. Even she didn't do this courageous act. She chose to play it along, to ignore… Relena, on the other hand, was… was trying to be a part of it, delving into it even with knowledge of future consequences.

"I know…" A single tear escaped Relena's eyes and she instantly wiped it dry. "But… that's me… I'll live through it… I did it before… I can do it again." She closed her eyes as she placed her chin on Hilde's shoulder while a single phrase echoed in her mind- '_I hope_…'


	19. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 7

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Seven  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

__

{Heartfire's Note: I just wanted to say that I already warned you. I'm just reminding.}

"We'll be back, sooner than you can say good bye." Duo cheerfully pledged as he hugged Relena.

"Yes. It won't be more than a few weeks, or so… the longest will be a month…" Hilde added as she shook Heero's hand then walked to Relena for her good-bye hug.

"But, it's your vacation!" The protest left her lips while a frown appeared on her forehead. "Can't this deal wait a few more weeks until your vacation is officially over?"

Duo shook his head. "Sorry doll, but you see, once we get this settled, we won't be worrying about anything any more." He gave a significant look to Hilde who instantly grinned at him. He wants this deal so they could finally focus on their marriage, and maybe a child, or two.

"Well, _nearly_ won't worry about anything…" She contradicted, knowing exactly what her dear husband was thinking. She looked at Relena and wondered what her friend will say when she finds out that their marriage is real. Sometimes, she even forgets why they were keeping it like that, but, thankfully, Duo would have a reasonable head whenever that happens. Too many people are going to be disappointed, especially her family, _and_ having her family disappointed at her groom for not giving her a huge, traditional wedding is not a good start. Seems like a petty problem, but anyone who knew her family would probably say that the secrecy was a wise decision.

"Wipe that frown off your lovely face now, Rel. It doesn't suit you at all." Duo tweaked her honey gold hair, forcing out a small smile from Relena.

"I'm going to miss both of you…" She walked the two down the stairs, Heero right behind her. 

"Sure you will." Duo looked from Relena to Heero. "With him around you?" To his delight, Relena blushed while Heero frowned to hide his embarrassment.

Their last bag was finally loaded in the taxi's trunk when Duo signaled for his staid friend. Heero complied, walked around the green taxi, and met Duo's assessing gaze. Why was his jolly friend's happy go lucky smile nowhere in sight?

"Remember, Yuy, I warned you." Then Duo turned away and slid inside the taxi just as Hilde entered. With one last wave, the cab drove off and left Heero and Relena in its wake.

"Finally… Peace and quiet." 

Relena faced Heero and shook her head in slight amusement. "For all I know, you're going to miss those two also."

The unavoidable 'Me?!' look Heero gave her made her laugh. She tiptoed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yes, I know so." She watched as he gave her one of his rare smiles once again. It's wonderful to see him slowly becoming at ease with her, more open…

"I'm going to check the devices around the house. Duo might have left some of them un-operational, or with a parting re-programming gift."

"Are you going to be finished by dinnertime?" 

Their first dinner alone… together, after a month of being in food fights and more… He almost couldn't wait… Heck! He _couldn't_ wait. "I'll try."

"All right. I'll wait for you…" She always had. With one last smile, Relena turned away and started for the house while Heero walked in the other direction, his heart feeling so light…

****

…

He flexed his muscles as he walked toward the house. His arm aches a bit from reaching up and fixing some of the devices. He stopped doing some arm stretches when he eyed Buena suspiciously closing the front door with her bags by the doorstep.

"Where are you going?" Heero warily questioned the middle-aged woman from the bottom of the steps. If there were any change of plans, why hadn't Relena called him in?

She turned and quickly placed a finger on her lips. "Ms. Relena is asleep, Mr. Yuy. Please… don't shout."

It wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for, but it was a nice tidbit to keep in mind when he's finally inside. "Where are you going?"

"Mr. Yuy, you forget. It is Thursday today."

'Oh…' He couldn't believe he forgot! Heero nodded, feeling a bit uneasy. Buena had been very nice to him, and here he was, being suspicious of her… Well, it's his job, right? Why feel this way? "Very well. I'll tell Ms. Relena that you said your good bye."

"And the others too, sir." Buena added as she reached his side.

Heero nodded. "And the others." Buena usually was the last to leave.

"I didn't lock the door when I saw you. You can still go inside through the main doors. Have a good weekend, sir."

Heero watched as the woman walked down the driveway and out of the automatic gates, then he looked up at the white double doors and started inside. He moved cautiously, almost as if he was in one of his missions… 'It's only five thirty and she's already asleep?' The incredulous thought left him in wonder as he tried to think of answers why she never took a nap when Duo and Hilde were present… Of course, they were noisy… either by laughing, teasing, or plain shouting mad at each other-

His breath caught in his throat. He stopped thinking. 

She had fallen asleep by the windowsill, intricately designed to be an add-in sofa. The last rays of sunshine poured over her sleeping body from the window, making her look ethereal. Her honey gold hair sparkled, her white skin illuminated, and her lips enhanced… 

He couldn't help but stare and gawk. When he was finally able to move, his feet took him to her side and he smiled softly as he noticed the book, gently clutched against her chest. 'So… you fell asleep reading a book…' 

The book was titled _Enchantment_… 'A fairytale?' Seemed like it suited the situation quite perfectly… Gently, he reached for the book to take it away, just in case it falls down and disturb her sleep-

She suddenly moved and Heero didn't even get a chance to take his hand away as her other hand trapped his hand, and brought it along while she turned to her side. He stilled, not wanting to interrupt her sleep, until he finally realized that his hand was crushed between the book and her breasts…

Heero's throat went dry… How in the world did that happen?! _Now_ what should he do?! If truth be told, he didn't mind where his hand was… but if he doesn't get it out of there soon… The mere thought that he just needed to turn his hand a little bit to cup one of her breasts… Damn! 

Nothing else to do but to wake her up… The exact opposite of what he had wanted to do. "Relena… Relena, wake up." He touched her shoulder and gently shook her. He saw her frown then her eyelids moved… "Good… Wake up. Come on…"

Slowly, sleepily, she opened her eyes. Squinted and then, after blinking a few more times, opened it, nearly wide-awake. "Hmm? Heero? What is it?"

The way she sleepily talked, the way she yawned so daintily… He leaned down like a man drowning for water and touched his lips to hers, completely surprising himself, and Relena. Her eyes widened, but as before, she couldn't help but respond to him… 

"What was that for?" Relena looked at him curiously when he finally moved away.

"I don't know." Heero looked down at the book and felt that unfamiliar heat on his face. "My hand…" 

Relena looked down and instantly blushed. Quickly, she released the book and let his hand escape. "Oh…! Sorry."

"It's all right…" A barely decipherable smile appeared on his face. "I liked having it there."

Relena's eyes widened at the forward response… then her shock ebbed and… it must be because she was still half asleep- but she placed both her hands on his shoulders and started to draw patterns on them.

"Really? Hmmm… I wonder what else Heero likes…" Oh Lord! Did she just said that?! She saw his eyes darken and she instinctively knew what she incited… Knew it and wanted it. No protest left her when Heero pressed his lips against her… Urgently… hungrily… and she responded with as much vigor until she remembered something…

"Heero… The servants…" She whispered for that tiny moment when his lips left hers and trailed to her cheek.

"It's Thursday… They just left." 

She shivered in pleasure as his breath touched her ear. "So… we're all alone…"

Her words seeped into the sudden haze Heero found himself in, and slowly, he forced himself to stop. "Yes… we're all alone." He drew back and stared into her eyes to try to find something, though he wasn't sure what… Instead, he saw an open gaze… an open look… her emotions for him to see…

"What do you feel like doing?" She knew, now, where she got the courage to ask those questions… Her own desires and needs… Her own wants… To make a memory of something real that will replace her dreams…

"I…" Heero didn't know what to say… Slowly, he reached out to touch her face and Relena instantly bent to his hand. He loves the way she closes her eyes and responds to his touch with a sigh from those wonderfully parted lips… "I feel like touching you…" 

"You're already touching me…" Relena whispered after she turned to his palm to kiss it.

Her breath sent his pulse into a beating frenzy. He swallowed once again. "… Kissing you…"

She opened her eyes and looked at him from under her lashes, unknowingly innocently seductive. "You already kissed me."

Heero shook his head. "No… more… I meant," he leaned down and stared into her eyes. "… more."

"Good… I want more." Relena answered as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. 

Her answer should have shocked him, but it didn't… It drove a new flame and he couldn't stop as he started to devour her lips, his hands going down from her face to her waist… up to cup her breasts…

'Fast… going on too fast…' Relena moaned against his hair as he kissed her neck. "Uhm... Heero…" She wants a memory to keep forever… Something she could cherish… 

"What?" His breath on her skin sent tingling sensations all over her body. 

"Stop… No… don't stop…" She moaned his name as he pressed a kiss just above her breast. When he moved to a more comfortable position on her seat, she pressed her hands against his chest and unwillingly pushed him away. "Wait… Heero… Stop…" Her voice lacked conviction and the feel of his heartbeat under her palms almost made her want to take it back.

His eyes seemed hazy and confused, as if he was just thrown into oblivion and… it made her smile. "Let's do this right… Let's start it right."

Heero frowned, trying to understand. But all he could understand was that… Relena would like to do something different… And… he couldn't seem to say no to her right now… "Fine… Let's start it right."

"I'm sure Maya has dinner ready." She trailed a finger down his jaw and saw it clench. "Wear a suit and meet me at the veranda by seven…"

Her finger was doing havoc to him, playing on his skin like that! He couldn't stop as he tilted his head caught it in his mouth. Seven… Over an hour later…

Relena sighed as he suckled her suddenly seemingly boneless fingers. What was it she told him?

"All right." Heero whispered the moment he let her go.

"All right…" Relena croaked as she stood up, held on to the wall until she could get her knees to stop shaking, and tried to appear poised. "See you then." With one last look at Heero, she turned and left the room.

Heero drew his shaking hand through his hair then he stopped and hastily placed it in front of his face… 'I'm… shaking…?' He looked down and was suddenly very aware that he was…straining… With wide eyes, Heero stood up and headed for his room to get one, long, very cold shower…

****

…

There must be thousands of butterflies in her stomach right now… She could feel each wing open and close… Why oh why did she decide to do this?! What if he didn't feel the same thing? What if he didn't like her dress? Maybe she should have let her hair down instead of pinning it up… Oh, what had she done?!

"Good evening."

His voice made her pulse leap and, thankfully, she was able to slowly face him. He looked as handsome as before- handsomer, if possible… Black suit… she should have known… His wide shoulders accentuated… They shouldn't make suits like that! He looked good enough to eat! 'Relena stop that!' She scolded herself and willed those impure thoughts to leave her mind as she nodded. "Good evening…"

And he thought that cold shower would work… He only gave the slightest regard to the small, circular table at the side as his eyes hungrily feasted on her. The damn shower only worked for thirty minutes… and now… damn! His eyes raked over her body… Her dress could drive a man crazy, if it's even called a dress! 

As if she could read his mind, she spoke. "Hilde gave it to me. She said that the design was inspired by ancient India… Do you like it?"

Midnight blue that nearly made her blue green eyes the same color… Only one strap over one creamy shoulder… the top ending right under her last rib bone with small diamonds hanging from the edge, caressing her flat stomach… then the flowing skirt that began about an inch below her belly button, low on her waist. It seductively hinted at her long legs… Heero took another look at the drop of diamond that winked in its folds, just where her center should be, and felt his blood rush to his head… What kind of man would not like it? "Yes…" 

She was burning, and they were outside! A supposedly cold autumn night, and yet her whole body was ablaze! The way he was looking at her… it made her willing to risk everything…

He noted the way her hands clutched a portion of her skirt in fists… She was nervous. Heck! So was he! But… he doesn't want this night to be stilted… Funny but… he's starting to figure out what she meant by 'starting it right', even if he couldn't put it to words.

She watched as he walked to her, and then his hand reached out for her hand. 

"Relena, may I have this dance?"

Surprise hit her and she stared into his so near Prussian blue eyes. There wasn't any music, but she didn't care as she smiled and complied. "It would be my pleasure…" She had waltzed with her teddy bear once or twice and imagined it to be Heero, but now, she has no need for imagination… Hiro teddy was hidden from sight inside her closet, and Heero… her real Heero, was in front of her…

He gently pulled her away from the banister, away from the table and then, slowly, watching her every expression, placed his left hand around her bare waist. He saw her gasp and felt a shudder run through her while his pulse went erratic once again. He finished their position and now, his right hand enveloped her left. When she shyly placed her right hand on his shoulder, he knew that he wouldn't care if he just stood there and remain in the same position for the rest of his life…

She followed his lead. Lithe, graceful, and willing…

He pushed her out then hastily brought her back in again, as if he couldn't bear to let her go even for a moment. Relena grinned, nerves finally settled. "How come you dance so well when you were trained to kill?"

He knew she was just curious… that she didn't mean anything by that question, so he shrugged, the answer so plain to him. "I was taught to infiltrate. Always know what kind of people the opponent covers himself with and you can get to them without being noticed."

"Oh?" Relena smiled up at him. "Then… what kind of people surrounds you, Mr. Yuy?"

Heero's eyebrow shot up. "So, I am now an opponent, Ms. Dorlian?" He twirled her around and took in pleasure at the her delighted 'Oh!'.

"No, I didn't say you were." She felt his pull and she ended in an embrace, with her back against his chest… his lips near her ear.

"So, why do you wish to know?" Heero asked, his voice low, while he stared at her unrestricted neck.

"Because I want to get to you without being noticed." Relena answered truthfully, followed by a gasp when she felt his hands slowly enfold her small, bare waist, making her tremble like a leaf braving the wind.

"Nobody gets to me without my noticing it." 

She turned her head to face him. "Have you… done this before?"

Somehow, he knew what she was asking him… Had he ever made love, done sex, or something like that before…? He's had many instances where he nearly had. When he was drunk, he would go to an alley… but he couldn't do it. Someone's face would swell before his eyes… Well… Who would believe him? "No… Never."

What a wonderful response… She looked forward once again and willingly leaned against his frame. "Neither have I…" But she had thought and plotted what she would do to him, if this would ever come about…

His breath caressed the back of her neck and she instinctively tilted her head to one side. He couldn't stop himself as he pressed his lips against that curve between her neck and shoulders while her hands covered his hands. He was straining- badly… and the purr from her lips only shattered his last hold on his control.

"Relena, will you mind if we miss dinner?" His lips traveled to her exposed shoulder, biting, suckling, lightly scraping.

"No… I don't mind at all… Heero…" Relena's whisper was the last reasonable answer that left her lips before she was swept into a blissful haze…

****

…

He pressed his lips against her temple… so very surprised at what they've done… so surprised, and yet, so… happy. This was not like him… Not like him at all, but when she moved her head, to meet his lips, he felt as if everything in the world was fine. 

Slowly, she drew back, placed a hand over his bare chest, and then positioned her chin over it to look at his face. She could see a smile on his face… Does he even know that he's smiling? Her free hand traced his lips but she only got to trace his lower lip before her finger was caught in his mouth.

Relena laughed. "Do you know that you have a wonderful smile, Heero?"

He let her finger go before answering. "No. Tell me." He feels wonderful… complete… wonderful… glorious… wonderful… How could she affect him in such a way? Why did he elude her when she had this to give him?

"Hmm… the beautiful smile was just replaced by a smug one." Relena pouted and Heero had the sudden urge to kiss her… He touched her firm buttocks instead.

Relena gasped then gave a knowing look at Heero. "Do you know that your muscles," she touched his biceps, "… bunch up when you're angry?" She was pushing herself to the limit but slowly, she moved up, letting his skin scrape against hers, her intimate parts, against his intimate ones, and to her delight, saw his eyes darken. "And your jaw clenches like that when you're tense-"

She suddenly found herself on her back with Heero on top of her, hungrily looking down at her.

"You better stop looking at me like that, or else…" But he wants that look… he thrives in those glances.

Heero's words only made her look more blatantly at him. "Look who's talking about looking at someone and or else's… If you're threatening me, make good of your threat, Heero." Like she said before, she had thought long and hard about what she would do to him if this ever comes about, and she's not going to waste a single moment. She moved her leg and suggestively touched her inner thigh against his legs.

His eyes darkened with arousal while an appreciative smile appeared on his lips. He leaned down while one hand slowly traveled from her knee, up to the inside of her thigh, and onto her- 

Relena gasped in pleasure, followed by a breathless laugh. 

"You asked for it." Heero warned as his head dipped to take in a firm breast…

"Yes… I did…"


	20. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 8

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Eight  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

She lazily opened her eyes, and loved the feel of lulled heartbeat under her ear… She looked at Heero while a sigh of content escaped her. Tenderly, she touched his slightly parted lips with her finger then slowly moved away. Relena stretched and happily accepted the pain as her whole body ached. Her womanhood was sore, her breasts felt heavy but if he touched her right now, she wouldn't think twice of doing it with him again…

Relena edged to the bed and sat up when a hand clamped itself possessively on her waist.

"Where are you going?"

A smile lighted her face… It was so sweet. He's asking her where, almost as if he's afraid she'll leave him instead of the other way around… She turned and grinned at him. "I need to eat. We've been in bed since last night! And we've done…" She let her sentence hung while a blush blossomed on her cheek. "You can go starve if you want but I won't."

Heero glanced at her bare back, that luscious curve… "Yes… I'm starving…"

The look in his eyes… She knew exactly what he's thinking of… God! It felt so nice! "No! Food! I need sustenance. Missing dinner, breakfast, and lunch was okay… But right now, I need dinner. I can't-" her stomach suddenly growled and the grin on Heero's face made her blush some more.

"Call for pizza. Don't get out of bed." His thumb stroked the skin under her ribcage and her breath came in faster. Who would have thought Heero was like this?

"Pizza… sounds like a… good plan… Heero, stop that." She snatched his hand away from her stomach to try to keep her mind clear. "And here I thought you had control…" She muttered playfully while she grabbed her corded phone.

Heero stilled. Control… He glanced at her and realized something he should have realized before… When it comes to her, Relena Dorlian Peacecraft… He has no control… He feasted at the sight of her while she dialed the number, and knew that what he just realized was true… Funny thing was, he didn't feel as if he's in danger at all! He didn't care… It was… all right to have no control…!

"I'd like to order two medium pizzas… Pepperoni and cheese… and…" she turned to face him once again, looking at him as though trying to decide… "And the other will be sweet Italian sausage with pineapples."

For a moment, Heero frowned… How did she know what he would pick in a pizza place?

"Yes, that's the place."

The blanket slid down her leg and Heero couldn't stop himself as his hand traveled up that expanse of skin, just as it had done so many times the past night and while there was a sun in the sky.

She turned to him and he saw her eyes darken. Her tongue slid out to wet her suddenly dry lips, tempting him near to insanity. "Yes… Yes… that's the address…" Relena gasped and stilled Heero's hand, giving him a half-hearted glare. 

His lips replaced his hand and another gasp escaped Relena's lips while the phone fell down from her ear and onto the bed for her suddenly impatient hands to cup Heero's face and bring it up to her face to kiss his lips.

The thud the phone made as it hit the floor jarred Relena's thoughts even before her lips could touch Heero's. She pouted and Heero… Heero grinned like a schoolboy on the verge of mischief… How she was able to stop herself from kissing him right at that moment, she didn't know… but it was so beautiful to see that rare look on his face!

She grabbed the phone off the floor and held up a stopping hand to Heero. "Sorry about that. I… I was distracted." She nodded. "Yes, thirty minutes is fine… Good bye." Relena dropped the phone back on its receiver and glared at Heero with as much menace as she could muster. "Oh, you're going to pay for that…"

Heero smiled. He was not acting like himself, but this was better… He dropped back on his side of the bed and then opened his arms. "How much?"

Relena moved to him, trying not to let her eyes stray to his wonderful chest to keep her anger intact. "You know what I mean…" She reached him and Heero instantly enveloped her in his embrace, throwing her anger out the window. "I didn't know that you had a sense of humor." The twinkle in her eyes signified otherwise.

"You'd be surprised." He tickled her then and Relena laughed as she tried to wriggle out of his embrace but he ended up pinning her on her back. "How'd you know what I'd order?"

That slow shrug she just made had Heero kissing that creamy portion of her shoulder. A sigh left her lips before she spoke. "I spent many years trying to read people through their tastes and body language." She leaned forward, unable to stop herself from kissing that pulsing beat at the base of his neck. "You are one hard person to understand but… I just thought you were the sweet and tangy person, especially since you eat… everything when..." His lips and tongue, traveling down her body made her squirm and almost forget what she was saying. "When… that's the food…" She became bold and ran her fingers down his spine, and more… 

Heero's eyes darkened like a storm she couldn't wait to meet.

They stared at each other with huge smiles on their faces and then… started kissing… touching… and more…

"You… have an unquenchable hunger… Heero Yuy…"

"So do you… Relena Dorlian…"

****

…

Heero woke up. With eyes still closed, he reached out to feel for Relena's body as he had done so many times before in the past few weeks, almost as if they had always slept together-

His eyes snapped wide open when he felt an empty space… His heart rate jumped as he stood up and stared at her bare side… He's usually the one who wakes up first between them… And since the servants weren't required to come inside Relena's and his room to clean, they've never really bothered with them… But where was she now?!

His troubled thoughts ended as he heard the shower… His sudden panic attack disappeared and a glimmer of mischief appeared in his eyes while he left the bed and walked to her bathroom. He could see the outline of her delicious body well enough against the glass… When he was sure she wasn't facing his direction, he slid open the door.

Relena gasped as she turned, and then… saw him. A smile appeared on her face while she openly stared at his body… Sleeping together everyday for nearly a month… Bliss! Why would she be embarrassed to look? She had never regretted that day… never regretted her decision… Her wait had not been in vain and every moment was better than a dream. "Good morning." 

"You didn't wake me up." Heero closed the door and she instantly felt the familiar curling and pulsing sensation that stretched from her center and spread in her.

"You looked too cute to wake up… I didn't have the heart to."

Heero walked to her and embraced her. "Ever wondered how it feels like to shower together?"

"Hmm… Maybe…" She kissed his cheek.

"So do I…"

****

…

It took them nearly two hours before they got out of the shower… By then, she was laughing at his wrinkled hands, and he was grinning at hers.

Thankfully, none of the servants questioned their tardiness for breakfast… or why they would suddenly disappear… Heero was starting to spend too much time editing shots from the cameras in his computer because… well… He usually had enough sense to turn off the computers while they… uh…, but sometimes, kisses turns wild, and when they know that they were alone…

Heero's throat dried as he watched the scene on his monitor. He couldn't believe that they were that wild… or that soft… sometimes he even thought that they were different people. But, when he catches sight of Relena later on during the day… he knew it was them… it was real…

With a serene smile upon his lips, he pressed the delete button. Those scenes were stored in his memories already, and if he knew Relena, she will be quite distressed if she ever saw those shots.

Who could have thought that life could be this… wonderful? Damn! That word has been in his vocabulary too often for comfort! Good thing that the servants were going away today… He wouldn't have to keep looking out for them the way he had been doing every weekday…

"Hey." 

Hands went around his neck, and soft lips kissed his hair from behind. A smile instantly lighted his face as he turned his chair around … How often had he smiled this past month? How easy it was…

She sat on his lap and then looked over his shoulder. She was living in pure bliss, and the sparkle in her eyes showed it. "No intruders, right?"

"None." Heero settled his hands around her waist.

"Guess what…" She leaned to his ear in a secretive gesture.

"What?" His monotonous voice didn't seem so monotonous anymore as he played along with the obvious game… Besides… What was that phrase Duo usually says to Hilde? Oh yeah. Relena turns him on.

"They're gone." 

"Finally!" In one sweeping motion, Heero had Relena in his arms and, in no time at all, they were walking up the stairs… Relena laughed as she wrapped her arms around Heero's neck and almost couldn't wait until they reached the bedroom…

****

…

Heero stirred under the sheets, not wanting to wake up, but instincts told him otherwise… He tried not to move and to relish his most recent memories. 

Going to the park became a routine, one that he found himself looking forward to. But yesterday was different. Surprisingly, and against his better judgment, his hand reached out for hers. To hold. She gave a momentary stunned look, then her lips turned into that inviting crescent smile that lit his world like a multitude of stars and softly squeezed his hand. 

It brought him pleasure- too much pleasure, and in the back of his mind, he wondered what it would cost him… Happiness has a high price. What will the world ask of him in return for these stolen moments? He was not an optimistic man. He knew that these moments would not last… His own countable memories of happiness only included Wing, and with those memories came pain. Now, that part of his past was gone, and he was living this blissful present.

Heero shook his head. No… Why was he torturing himself this way? He was confused, adrift in unfamiliar tides of emotions, but… dare he say it? He liked it. So rare it was that he liked something that… he doesn't want to let go… not just yet. He stretched languidly, strategically placed his hand over Relena's side to wake up knowing that she would be right beside-

His eyes snapped wide open once again and quickly turned to her side… She wasn't there… "Relena?" 

Her shower wasn't turned on… 

Waking up and finding her not beside him… One of the damnest feelings in the world- Bull! He's gone soft… He shouldn't be like this! He shouldn't feel the need to have her beside him. He should be able to wake up after he dreamt about her and be able to face reality like a true soldier! Heero stood up and walked out of the room, determined to find her.

"Yes, of course Charlie!"

Her cheerful voice came from the study and his previous thoughts disappeared, replaced by a question- 'Who's Charlie?' Her words became clearer as he neared the room…

"No… Fine! Okay… I'll meet you. Honest!"

__

"Are you sure you can pencil me into your busy schedule, dearest Relena?"

Heero's hands turned into tight fists. His teeth grated as he heard Relena laugh. It was clear that she was talking to someone she was _very _familiar to on the vid-phone, but who the hell was it? They sound too sweet for comfort.

"I promise. This afternoon at the park."

__

"All right. Since you promised, I trust you…"

'Who are you?!' Heero's anger doubled at the way the voice teased Relena. It irked him so much that this person, whoever he was, could make her laugh so easily.

"Well!" She sounded playfully frustrated. "At least I know I haven't lost your trust!"

__

"Er… I have to go, Relena. A client just came in."

"Okay Charlie."

He was shaking in barely contained anger. His blood was boiling and he could see red-

__

"I love you, Relena."

Those whispered words… It was as if lightning struck him and his heart just stopped pumping… the whole house suddenly became silent… He couldn't feel his body as he waited for her answer…

"I love you too, Charlie."

_{Heartfire's Note: As I said before, PG… Uh… I do try to write a chapter or two a week. True, there's a homepage that has up to ch. 6 of Heero's, but the ones here has more tidbits because I tried to take time to make sure I didn't leave anything. The webmistress is still going to change it, sometime. _

Also, it seems that I will only have one free day next week, and it's nearly my finals. I will try to post two chapters, but if I can't finish writing or editing, I am apologizing early if I don't. For those who have tests, good luck. 

If you have any questions about Chimera, please free to email me. I might have missed explaining something you didn't know and I would like to be sure I covered all the bases. I hope you liked my try on a bit of lime. Take Care!}


	21. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 9

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Nine  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

__

'I love you too, Charlie.'

Her answer reverberated in his head again and again, like an echo in a deserted valley… He felt as though suddenly pushed into a burning pit of fire and then punctured with spears… He couldn't move for God knew how long… But when he heard her chair scrape back, his feet automatically brought him running up the stairs as if dogs were after him, into her room, and slipping into her bed. Yet now, he felt oddly cold… Oddly… dead…

"Good morning Heero." 

He heard her cheerful greeting, but he didn't care… He felt her sit beside him, but the excitement that used to come when she was near, was now replaced by indescribable pain. How could she sleep with him and show him so much when she loved another…?

Relena leaned down to kiss him.

He felt the bed move… He knew exactly what she was going to do and quickly turned away. 

She frowned, confused at the blatant show of disregard, then shrugged. Heero could be moody sometimes… though this one was a first… "I'm going to the park this afternoon-"

"Fine!" He couldn't stop the snarl that left his lips. 

His tone nearly made her jump but she kept her smile, though it faltered while she faced Heero's back. "Aren't you going with me? You're my bodyguard-"

The mere fact that she's acting like an innocent bitch… Damn her. "No. I'm not. You can take care of yourself."

Anger caught hold of her first. She glared at him, confused, worried, and hurt. "Heero Yuy! What has gotten into you?"

He raised his eyebrow at her, mocking her and making her feel insignificant to hide the pain he could feel. "Why don't you ask yourself that question."

Relena shook her head. Why did he say that? Why is he looking at her like that? "Why are you acting like an obstinate boy…?"

"I don't know!" He stood up from the bed, naked like a newborn baby in all his glory, and glowered at her as if she was the worst thing he had ever laid eyes on. "I don't know! I don't know myself anymore!!!" Without another word, Heero stomped out of her room, straight into his, and banged the door shut.

Relena stared at her open door with wide eyes… Her anger turned to shock… and now, a sudden coldness enveloped her as she looked down at the bed and… the feeling that… 

She reached out, touched that slight dip on her bed where he lay just a little while ago, and felt the warmth from his body… slowly disappear… She closed her eyes while a sob escaped her lips… 'What… happened?'

Her shoulders shook… a hand curled over the blanket Heero had used while another went to her lips. "I won't… I won't…" Her broken whisper reached no one's ears. Slowly, she stilled. With a deep, trembling breath, Relena stood up then opened her eyes to look at the beautiful sprawling world outside her window. Her eyes sparkled with tears, yet none fell. She had cried enough and it was time to stop… It was time to accept…

'It's over… It's all over…'

****

…

He should have gone with her… First, because he was her bodyguard… Second, because… he would like to see this asshole Charlie… Who's this man who stole her heart, and left his gasping for life? Damn the man. He could remember the time when he asked Relena if she had ever been in love before… She said 'maybe'- was it Charlie?

'For someone who's going to meet the one you love, Relena, you look as if you're about to go to a funeral.' The observation came out of nowhere and he did a double take to make sure… True enough, she had a long face. He could tell, even when her face was covered by the shadow of her hat. She was also looking down on her hands, endlessly twisting a handkerchief. Heero frowned, trying to figure whether or not… 'Is she… crying?'

"Relena!" 

Her name, shouted from the other side by an unfamiliar voice, garnered Heero's attention. A man in jeans and plain blue shirt with a khaki jacket came into view. He had an…. acceptable face, with sandy blonde hair… blue eyes… six one in height… It doesn't take a genius to know who he is—Charlie.

Heero's competitive streak came out. His hands flexed open and close… If he had a missile launcher with him right now… Target sighted and locked… Maybe he should just kill the man.

His hand curled around his gun, but when he glanced at Relena and saw how her sad demeanor completely disappeared as she stood up and waved her hand… he couldn't do it. It was torture to stay still while the woman he lo-

He blinked, slightly confused. What was that word he was about to say? No… It couldn't be. Heero shook his head. He should just leave and save himself some pain, but…

Slowly, he squatted lower to the ground, released the tight hold on his gun, and then punched the green grass to let his frustration out. It had been so long that he had a thirst for death. How ironic that- he peered through that small opening behind the bush- the person who lives for peace was the one who incited it in him.

****

…

"Over here, Charlie!" Relena pushed Heero to the back of her mind as she waited for her second favorite man to come up to her-

"Relena." Charlie's hands wrapped around her waist and the two hugged each other like there was no tomorrow. "God! I missed you."

"I missed you too, Charlie… a lot." Relena buried her nose against the lapel of his jacket while he kissed her cheek. She was glad for the warmth and support. She needed it right now… How she wished that it was Heero's arms around her, but… Charlie is a good enough substitute… or Duo, Quatre… even Wufei… sweet Wufei. That thought brought a smile to her face. She misses that loud mouth. "But now, it's your fault."

"I know… The boss had been giving me too many assignments."

"Well, all I'm saying is it's your fault this time. Now you're the one with the tight schedule, not me." Her arms tightened around his waist when tears suddenly started to threaten once again. Why did it have to start right now…? Was it because he was hugging her as if she was someone special when she did not feel like that at all…?

"Relena?" Charlie gently pushed her away as he felt the pressure from her embrace. The last time Relena had hugged him like that… that sort of hug was when her butler had died. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." 

The telltale sniffle was enough evidence of the lie. "Relena, this isn't fair." He caught her chin and forced her to look at him. "We promised. You know I'm here for you… Please…" He couldn't stand seeing her like this. "Tell me what's wrong."

Relena shook her head while her grip around Charlie's waist tightened. "I don't know where to start… You'll probably think that this is all trivial anyway…"

"Tell the truth and nothing but the truth and let me make that judgment myself." The soft laughter that left Relena made him smile. It was a bad joke, but she got it.

"You and your courtroom lingo." Relena gave him a light punch. If anyone could see them right now, they'd think that she and Charlie were lovers… Of course… they did consider that probability a long time ago. They weighed the possibilities with a rational mind, shared a kiss or two, but… they were better off as best friends… being step brother and sister was an added bonus.

"Hey, got a laugh from you, didn't I? Besides, what good am I as part of your family if I can't be there for you?" Charlie chucked her chin then made her look into his eyes. "I'm gonna tell you something I hope no one would ever hear."

"Really?" The contrast between the twinkle in his eyes and the severity of his tone made her grin. "What is it?"

Charlie's hands cupped Relena's face to make her see that he was serious. He knew how much she missed her real brother and that, according to Duo and the others, she had been through some tough times with love. He tried to say it as often as he could, just to show her that she isn't alone in this world, and he could only hope that it helps. "I love you, sis…"

Relena's lips trembled. "Oh Charlie…" She stepped forward and hugged him once again. How did he know that she needed someone to tell her those words right now? That she was craving for them? Why couldn't Zechs be like him? Why couldn't her real brother be beside her, like this? Why couldn't Heero…? "I love you too… my brother…"

****

…

He watched as Charlie reached her and then gave her a bear hug… Then he nearly lunged out of the bushes when he saw Charlie lean down to kiss her!

"God! I missed you so much!"

Heero stared at Relena, his ears waiting for her answer…

"I missed you too, Charlie… A lot."

He suddenly felt his drained and his anger disappeared. His eyes could seem to look away though he ached for them to close. He watched as Relena buried her face against his chest, as Charlie kissed her beautiful hair, as the two stayed in each other's arms…

There was something between those two. A certain closeness he couldn't describe, but he knew he envied. He wanted to grab Relena, jerk her away, and lock her up. He wanted to break that man's nose and pound him to the ground… He wanted more than ever to kill a person, but right now… he couldn't look any more. That feeling of death slowly crept over his entire being like a burning hole until all he wanted to do was to wash it away… wash it away like bloodstains that wouldn't disappear…

He found himself in front of her house… How he reached it was a mystery, but he didn't care as he callously walked to his room, and then straight into the bathroom… He didn't even bother to take off his clothes as he entered the shower, grabbed one of the knobs, and twisted it. Cold water hit his chest.

A wet hand went up to his face when he felt liquid on his cheeks… He frowned, confused. Why were his cheeks wet when water hadn't touched it, yet…? Why couldn't he focus his eyes? Why in the damn hell did it feel as if this whole sordid event was his fault?!

He couldn't control the tumult of emotions that seemed to seize his chest. He couldn't understand it. He hates it. He hates it when he doesn't know what to do! He hates it when he doesn't have any control.

With a frustrated growl, Heero faced the marble wall then punched it over and over again… as hard as he could… until his knuckles bled… until he heard them crack… until a painful, heart-wrenching cry echoed in the house…

His body slid down to his knees like a lifeless doll, rocked back then dropped on his buttocks… Cold water continued to splay on his feet while he hunched over his legs. Bloodied hands covered his face while his shoulders rocked with years of unspent tears… choking him… punishing him… tormenting him…

__

{Heartfire's Note: Hello readers. I know that sometimes it's time consuming whenever you are trying to find out if the story you are following had been updated. I've started making an email list, and I give out a small message whenever I update Chimera. If you would like to receive this, just email me. ^_^ Take care!}


	22. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 10

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Ten  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

Duo and Hilde silently watched as the two ate their food. Other than the occasional 'Please pass…' whatever, clearly directed to them, Heero and Relena never looked up from their plates, neither did they even try to make any type of conversation…

Something happened. They left for a month to look for their perfect honeymoon spot, and to bag a deal with a software company, thinking that the two would finally settle their differences and what did they came back to? The Arctic!

Sometimes, they only had to look at each other to send a message… and this was one of them… 

****

…

Duo hammered his fist on Heero's door. He's driven, motivated, and he has a purpose! He couldn't care less if Heero was a good fighter… well… maybe a little, but he's not gonna back down! It was happening again! Relena was obviously heartbroken. How could Heero do this to her?! The asshole just doesn't have any heart! 

As soon as that thought left his mind, Heero opened the door with a scowl on his face. Duo's eyes slanted in anger. Before Heero could speak, Duo's knuckles punched him on the nose, then his stomach. Heero stumbled back into his room and Duo slammed the door closed behind him.

"What the hell did I tell you about hurting her?!" 

****

…

"Oh Relena…" Hilde hugged her friend and Relena tiredly placed her head on Hilde's shoulder.

"I mean… It was… everything was perfect… and then… he just turned cold… No reasons… no explanations…"

"Hey, it's going to be okay."

"I don't care." Relena whispered as she closed her eyes and willed those demented tears away. "Oh darn it… What am I doing anyway? I knew this was going to happen sooner or later… Better it happened sooner, than later…"

"Relena… stop thinking like that. Hey…" Hilde gently pushed Relena away to look at her in the eyes, to show her that she understood. "Men are slow. They're all slow. Look at Duo and me… How long had we known each other? How long had we lived in the same house? How many hours a day do we see each other?" Hilde rolled her eyes. "Consider yourself lucky that you didn't have to live with the man of your dreams under the same roof for… God knows I don't want to keep count of the years! Now _that_ was torture! And him not even looking at my side!"

A strangled laugh escaped Relena's lips as she heard Hilde's frustration set upon a humorous light. "Hilde, you're a gem."

Hilde shook her head. "No… I'm your friend…" She quickly stood up, pulling Relena along. "Come on… You need sleep. I don't want you to have eye bags for tomorrow's conference… I'll give you some pills."

Relena shrugged. "Fine with me…" That was how she had been catching sleep these past few days anyway.

****

…

Heero felt another blow to the side of his head. 

"I warned you, Yuy!"

He didn't even bother to cover his face and let Duo's knuckles rain on him. He could already hear ringing in his ears… feel blood trickle down his nose… but he didn't care… Why not feel just as badly on the outside?

"Heck, Yuy! Why won't you fight back?" Duo grabbed Heero's collar and started pounding his friend's head on the floor. When no blows came back, no struggles from the perfect soldier, Duo stopped and stared at him in confusion. Slowly, his initial anger dropped down to a controllable level…

"Heero? Dude… Are you okay?" Duo dropped down on his knees to shake him. He was still breathing… Man! He couldn't have done more than just stun him for a few minutes… the man survived damn self-detonating inside a Gundam, for heaven's sake!

Heero opened his eyes and stared right into Duo's worried eyes. "Thanks… You should have punched harder though." He sat up, shook his head only once, and then jumped to a stand. His face and body stung with Duo's hard punches, but he will not show it.

Duo's jaw dropped. 'Should have punched harder…?' He frowned. "What the hell is going on in this nuthouse?!"

With his shoulders slumped, Heero walked to his window and then leaned against the wall. Slowly, he looked down at the cuts and bruises that were still fresh on his knuckles. Hilde and Duo's surprise visit two days after that… that event… He just wasn't himself yet… 

Duo walked to Heero and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Heero? What happened?" When his friend didn't answer, Duo sighed, walked to the other side of the window, and then leaned against that side of the wall. "Come on…Tell me. I know I'm no expert at this…" He pushed a hand through his hair in frustration. "Hell! My life was a wreck before, too. But… try me… Sometimes, it helps a person feel better, talking, you know."

After a few more seconds of silence, his lips moved. "_She_'s what's wrong." The phrase was said in a deep growl as he elbowed the wall behind him. Why did he even talk?!

"Relena?" Duo frowned as he scratched his head. "I knew that all ready. What I wanted to know was what's wrong with both of you!"

"Nothing! There isn't anything between us anyway!" 

Duo was expecting a monosyllable, or a grunt, not an actual sentence that didn't answer his question. Well, seemed like he's gonna have to do a little prodding before he learns what's up. "You know…" He reached out and gave Heero's shoulder a pat. "Relena is hard to resist… Half the male population loves and adores her like a little sister who has beauty and brains, while the other half just wants to get their little hands in her panties."

The murderous glare that came his way was expected, but he hadn't expected to feel as though he should be running for the next hill! Duo gulped… maybe he shouldn't have said that last sentence…? Even if it were to make Heero mad as hell that he'd start talking…?

"Just be happy that I know you're in love with Hilde… or else you'll find yourself six feet under ground." Heero's voice shook with barely controlled anger. The mere thought that half the male population—whatever Duo said! The… Why the hell is… Dammit! He's so confused! He looked down on his bruised hands… then up at Duo while broken words spilled from his mouth. He must know… "How… how did you know that it was Hilde, Duo? How did you know?"

He was ready for any kind of question _but_ that one! Duo gawked at Heero until Heero's eyes met his and right then and there, Duo felt the pain Heero was experiencing from inside… His friend was good, covering his emotions, but sooner or later, he was going to have to let go… and it was later, now… Duo sighed. "Helluva question to ask, Yuy…"

"Why? You don't know the answer?" Heero muttered under his breath… He didn't even know why he asked that. He turned away with a huff, embarrassed with his question. "Forget it."

"No… I want to answer." Duo couldn't help the smile that left his lips as he looked outside the window and imagined his wife. "I knew it was Hilde because… every time I wake up in the morning I knew that she was there, ready to start the day with me. When she's the first person I see and the last before I go to sleep, my day's complete." 

Heero watched the emotions flit over Duo's face from under his unruly thick brown bangs. Sometimes, he envy him- his openness…

Duo let a few minutes slide before he said his next few words just as memories assailed him. "I never noticed it before, but when she was in a coma… When she was nearly kidnapped, I knew that I never wanted to lose her…" Duo looked up at Heero and gave a half smile. "Because of a lot of things, Heero… I will never be able to point at one and say that it was because of that… it's a lot, rolled into one… I love her and the moment I realized that, I was the happiest man in the world."

Heero nodded. He saw that truth on Duo's face every time. "When did you know?" The question left his lips before he could stop it.

Duo grinned. His friend was in an unusual questioning mode. "Heh… I dunno… Probably from the very start when she was glaring down her cute little nose at me and scolding me about doing nothing when there was a war out there… and the funny thing was, she didn't know that I was right in the middle of it… I just couldn't accept it then…" Duo looked away, a sad smile on his face. If he had been more truthful with himself, he would have lived a longer life of bliss… but, right now, they're having fun catching up on lost time.

Heero shook his head… Damn! Duo cut too close… He couldn't be… he couldn't be in love with Relena… He just couldn't be! He's not allowed to feel those things. He's not supposed to feel those things… He's not… "I'm not ready for this…" Heero slid down the wall with a groan, bent down, and grabbed his hair in frustration. You would have thought that after killing so many people, after being soulless, nameless, and emotionless for nearly half of his life, he would be ready for something like this…

Duo frowned as he stared at Heero… He knew that Heero's fighting an inner demon but he must realize that- "Heero, none of us are ready for it… It just sorta hits us… And man… we may be strong, but when we fall… we fall hard and flat on our faces… We're just human, Heero… we're just like any other average human being…" Duo looked at Heero significantly. They may know more and do more, but they have the same feelings.

"Duo, you don't understand…" It was more complicated than that…

He could barely hear Heero's voice and Duo stooped, balanced his weight on the balls of his feet, and- "Try me…"

A minute passed… Two, before he spoke again, and it pained him to hear those words from his lips. "She loves someone else…"

Duo nearly fell down on his rump! He gawked, stared, and then blinked at Heero in surprise. "Excuse me?" Was that squawk from him?!

Heero straightened, eyes still closed as he bumped his head against the wall. "I said she loves someone else." He couldn't believe that he's telling Duo these things!

"Excuse me?" He knew he sounded like a parrot… but what the hell?

Heero's eyes opened in slits and glared at him. For a moment, Duo felt better after he saw the familiar look- the Heero he knew…

"Are you trying to irritate me?"

"Dude, you're confusing me!" Duo pushed his hand through his thick hair for lack of anything else to do. "For one thing, Relena doesn't love anyone but-" He stopped his tongue just in time… It's for Relena to say, not him… 

"But?" Heero's sharp eyes knew that Duo was holding something back…

"Uhm… nothing…" He cleared his throat. "And you can't make me say it either. Anyway, why did you say she loves someone else?" He dropped down on his buttocks and sat on the floor, beside Heero, Indian style. He's gonna get to the bottom of this even if it kills him!

Heero's glare hardened as he forgot Duo's comment and focused on that… that painful day. "I don't just jump to conclusions, like someone I know." 

Duo flinched. He schooled his face to show a 'Who? Me?' look and earned another heartfelt omae wo kurosu glare from his friend.

"I heard it." 

Duo shook his head and his braid swished to and fro… There couldn't be anyone else… "What's the guy's name?" He saw a silent snarl leave Heero's lips before the poor man spoke.

"Charlie."

Duo gave him an incredulous stare but Heero's glare didn't waver and… Slowly, Duo's wild imagination made sense of the whole situation… The whole, sordid- "MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!" Duo fell on his back as he clutched his stomach. But his laughter was cut short when he felt a hand grab his throat. "Ergh… Heero… let go…"

"Stop laughing." The threat was clear and strong. 

With his oxygen being cut off, Duo could only nod. 

Heero instantly let him go. He never meant to hurt Duo anyway, just stop him from laughing. "Why did you laugh?"

Duo coughed exaggeratedly then grinned up at him. "Heero, my man, sorry to say but you're one love sick guy."

"Shut up, Maxwell." If Duo teases him one more time-

Duo wiped the smirk off his face as he saw the dangerous glint in Heero's eyes. "Well, anywayz… I'm happy to announce that _I _only know one Charlie in Relena's life…"

Heero's raised eyebrow prompted him to continue- if he values his life.

"Charlie is Relena's stepbrother. Her mom married his dad a few years after the war. They kinda hit it off 'coz they're both onlys… you know, only kid." He looked for any signs of recognition on Heero's face and found none… "Er… Heero… You haven't been keeping in touch with her family ties, have you?"

"Why would I want to keep up with issues concerning her when I just want to _forget_ about her?" Heero snorted. Of course, he will not tell Duo that he never did a good job of it. "Besides, stepbrothers do not kiss stepsisters on the lips."

Duo frowned. "Now… wait… when did he kiss her?"

"Two days ago." Heero went back to his original position by the wall.

"You saw him kiss her?" Duo's frown deepened. Much as he liked the way Heero had opened up, he was starting to wonder if Relena and Charlie really were more than… nah… can't be!

"I have a 15-15 vision. I saw what I saw from where I was. They hugged each other, Charlie leaned down to Relena, and then they kissed."

"Whoa! Back track there a bit… Was his back to you?" He's trying to comprehend whatever's happening here as best as he could… 

"Yes. So what?"

A knock from outside made their gazes swivel to the door.

"Duo? Are you still in there?" Hilde hesitantly asked and from inside, Duo grinned as Hilde's voice made him remember something. Maybe he should pair Charlie up with someone, after this. With all the situations the poor guy gets himself into, it will save his life to have a girlfriend.

"Heero, watch and learn… I'm not the only one who jumps to conclusion." He walked to the door then opened it. "Hilde… help me with a li'l experiment." Before she could answer, he pulled Hilde inside and didn't even bother to close the door. "Yuy, watch and learn." Duo stepped in front of Heero's line of vision and then leaned down.

"Watch you kiss Hilde? What's to learn from that?" Heero sarcastically groused.

"You come over here and look." Duo retorted, a bit impatient, while Hilde frowned at Duo, wanting to question him, but that silencing look he gave stopped her. 

Heero wearily stood up, walked to the side and saw Duo… kissing Hilde's _cheek_…

"A stepbrother can kiss a stepsister's cheek, now can't he?" Duo let go of Hilde, faced a stilled Heero, and then grinned at his friend's reaction. "Now look who's been jumping to conclusions."

"Oh my…! Heero! What happened to you?! You're bleeding!" Hilde gasped as she got a good look at Heero's bleeding nose and the cut on his cheek.

"It's nothing." Duo and Heero answered as they stared at each other and then Heero looked away and grabbed his forehead.

"Damn!"

Duo smiled. "It's hard, isn't it? But hey, we learn… How about if you go to Relena right now and talk to her?"

Panic enveloped Heero. 'Talk to her?' Now? What could he tell her? How? Where should he start?

"Relena's sleeping… I gave her some pills because she needs rest for that conference tomorrow." Hilde motioned to Relena's closed door. "You can talk to her tomorrow… I'd suggest after the conference so she wouldn't be too shaken."

Duo shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea. Heero, you've got everything ready for the conference tomorrow, right?"

Heero glared at Duo. "I may be slow in other areas, but not this one."

"Hallelujah! He admits!" Duo cried out comically.

Hilde saw murder in Heero's eyes and quickly pushed Duo out of the man's room. "We'll see you tomorrow, all right Heero? Good night!"

The door closed behind them and he was by himself once again. Now that the smug grin was gone from his line of vision, he could remember why Duo's such a good friend… With a quick shake of his head, he dropped down on his bed, aware that he will finally get a good night's rest…

****

…

"Duo! Don't you know when to stop?!" Hilde whispered with utmost severity.

Duo only grabbed her waist and then twirled her around. By the time they stopped, they were both trying hard to cover their laughter. "I like to tease."

"Too much! Heero was about to kill you! Are you going to turn me into a widow so soon?!" She pulled at his braid while a hand went around his neck. "It's bad enough that Arche is still on our tail, adding a former Gundam pilot to sniff us out is just making it worse!"

"Nope…" Duo leaned down and then rubbed his nose against her, torturing each other as their lips touched with featherlike kisses. "Forget about Arche. We can handle them. As for those two… they're gonna settle down soon… I can feel it. So… how about we go to that honeymoon of ours?"

Hilde's hands stilled Duo's face and finally pressed her lips against his for a good, long, hard, recklessly wild kiss. Duo pulled her body against his while his hand roamed her back, wanting to feel her skin instead of cloth. 

"I guess… that means… yeah…" His breathing became haggard as he talked between passionate kisses.

Hilde drew her lips away then pressed her face against the side of his neck. "Well… I agree with you. I mean, we found the perfect place… Heero and Relena are fine now… We've done what we could… I think it's about time that we move on with our lives."

"Mmm…" With one last kiss on her cheek, Duo leaned down and then scooped her up in his arms. 

Hilde gasped while her hands clutched his shirt. "Duo! What are you doing?!"

"Just practicing carrying my bride over the threshold." Duo whispered against her ear as he walked towards her room and hummed the wedding march. "How about we leave tomorrow morning?"

They reached her door and he slowly let Hilde slide down his body. His knees grew weak, but God! That felt good! He wished that they could share the room together but… No one knows that they're officially married… and they want _it_ to happen in the perfect place… 

"Tomorrow morning sounds fine to me." Hilde hugged her Duo one last time for that night. "I'm going to dream of you tonight, my husband."

Duo grinned. He wouldn't have it any other way. "I love you, my wife."

A soft chuckle left Hilde as she touched her forehead against his chest. "Duo, we're hopeless."

"Yep." He kissed her hair one last time then stepped back before he could lose control. "Good night."

Hilde nodded as she opened her door. "Good night."

Duo watched as she closed her door then started for his own room, trying to ease his thoughts with their upcoming honeymoon. After searching high and low for the right place for nearly a month, they finally found their paradise island. They rented the whole island, indefinitely, and by tomorrow, they would be in it with no radios, no television, no one. With only a single telephone line that nobody knows about, they are going to relish each other, making sweet, slow, torturous, rapturous love. 

Ah… Paradise! 

{Heartfire's Note: I've received quite a few letters asking why I chose the name 'Chimera of Life' for this saga, so I thought I should give a brief explanation, for those who are interested.   
In Greek mythology, Chimera is a monster. Yet, it also means fantasy, illusions, or dreams. Monsters are usually perceived as terrible while Dreams and Fantasies are usually wonderful. There are two sides of a coin, as the saying goes. In life, even for an instant, we experience both pain and pleasure.   
Finally—I know, I know… for those expecting more angst and found… well… humor, it's because I couldn't torture them yet. I love them too much ^_^ and I thought that they've been through enough, don't you?   
Once again, I would like to thank you all for the wonderful reviews. If you have any criticisms, don't hesitate to send it over.   
Well, I know everyone is starting to get ready for either Christmas, or winter vacation. Good Luck in both gift shopping and test taking!} 


	23. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 11

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Eleven  
By Heartfire  


**__

~*~

Relena glanced to her side and saw his piercing gaze upon her… She quickly looked away. 'Why is he staring at me like that?' Relena kept her back straight and her eyes focused at the audience in front while she tried not to think of him. 'Why does he have a swollen nose?'

Make-up helped her pale face that morning, especially with Hilde's help. 'But why did they have to leave today?' She rather liked having Hilde and Duo around, if not to keep her sanity in place, then so she could talk to someone.

'Why is he staring at me?!' Her eyes almost strayed but she caught herself… The bad thing was… she didn't need her eyes to know that he was looking… That was how conscious she was of him.

****

…

'Relena…' He couldn't stop himself from staring… But, unlike before, when she openly met his gaze… now, she would look away… She wouldn't meet his eyes.

'What did you expect, anyway?' He wants to kick himself. He looked behind him and checked the men in front of the monitors with the state of the art equipment… They combed the whole place from basement to attic… No harm will come to Relena… He can't chance it, for both his sake, and hers…

But… How he wished she'd just look over here and give him a smile.

****

…

Relena glanced at the elected president by the United World Alliance and for the first time, she couldn't feel the pride she felt before… Pride at how far the world and colonies had gone since the war…

When was the last time she was in this place? She remembered blurred images… She was giving a speech to the people and she thought she saw Heero's figure just on the far left corner of the second floor…

'Darn! Why did I have to think about that right now?!' She looked up, trying to make her tears disappear when she thought she saw a shadow move… Relena quickly dropped her gaze. A frown appeared on her face while her heart pounded against her chest.

****

…

Heero frowned as he saw the change on her expression. He became so adept to her feelings that he could tell when- 'Something's wrong…' His sixth sense to these kinds of situation made him look around but he found nothing out of place… The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he walked back to check on the person monitoring the cameras.

His quick eyes checked each colored screen. "Anything?"

"No sir… There was a slight discrepancy on Camera Fifteen, but I've already sent Number Twelve up there."

Heero nodded, his body in a rigid stance. "Eight, Get a hold of the medics and tell them to be ready."

"Yes sir." 

Heero looked back at the stage… 'I've got a bad feeling about this…'

"It's nearly over sir."

Heero shook his head. "It isn't over until the stage is clear." He looked around the place once again and just couldn't shake off the feeling that something was seriously amiss, that something was about to happen. And his instinct was rarely wrong…

The President motioned to the speakers on stage and Relena and the others promptly stood up. The audience started to applaud. Relena used that chance to scan the third floor once again.

Heero turned to the surveyor. "Where's Twelve?"

"He went to Camera Fifteen, sir."

"Why isn't he back?!" Heero demanded as he checked camera fifteen on the monitor.

"I-"

Heero turned his back to the surveyor and faced another man. "Seven! Go to Camera Fifteen and look for Twelve!" His order was nearly drowned by the thundering applause from the audience, but the man nodded and ran to do as was commanded.

Heero looked at the crowd… They were all standing… Anyone could hide in them right now…

****

…

Relena squinted as she saw the fleeting shadow she thought she saw earlier… The glinting lights from the chandelier overhead sprinkled its radiance into that direction and she saw…

Her eyes widened and her blood ran cold. 'A gun!' She willed herself not to show notice and glanced to Heero's direction, but he wasn't looking at her… He was giving orders to someone… Her eyes snapped back to the dangerously glinting barrel and followed its aim… The President's heart! Everything she had worked for… everything the people had striven for… It couldn't end like this!

"NO!" She didn't think as she ran forward. 

Heero snapped his attention to the stage when he heard her cry. He saw her run to the President who was oblivious that Relena's about to tackle him- 'What the-' He looked up and… saw it… His eyes widened.

"NO!!! RELENA! STOP!"

But he was too late! A sound almost like a deafening roll of thunder reverberated inside the room…

The President toppled down from the stage…

Relena staggered in mid step…

The audience started screaming…


	24. Story 2: Probe the Psyche 12

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Two: Probe the Psyche  
Chapter Twelve  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

Blood splattered on the stage floor… 

A spot formed and slowly grew on Relena's cream blouse… 

Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Heero moved to the middle of the stage while Relena numbly touched her chest…

Heero grabbed for his gun…

Her shaking body lost control and she fell on her knees. Slowly, Relena brought her hand in front of her and saw dark red blood against her pale skin… The wound started to register through her shocked mind.

The figure on the third floor turned away…

Heero brought the gun in front with eyes slanted in deadly precision, and pulled the trigger.

Once…

Twice…

Thrice…

The shadow jerked.

Excruciating pain created a haze in her eyes and raw, throbbing needles started to prick her lungs. She couldn't breath… Her surroundings became distorted…

Relena collapsed.

Heero turned to her the moment she dropped on her back. His wild eyes fell on her body, in the middle of the stage, under the bright circle of light… No one else existed to him at that moment but her. His mind had shut out everything around him.

The shadow tumbled over the railing…

"MEDICS!!!" His anguished cry was ripped from his throat as he ran to her and kneeled by her side… Afraid to touch her, wanting to touch her… 

She was breathing too shallowly… She was grimacing in pain…

"Relena… Relena open your eyes… Come on… Don't…" His breath started coming in faster as he touched her face and he couldn't seem to focus… couldn't seem to see her clearly… He felt something create a trail down his cheek but he didn't care. "Relena… dammit! Open your eyes!"

She opened her eyes. Everything seemed so clear one moment then hazy the next, but she could be quite sure she saw tears fall down from Heero's eyes… 'You're crying… Why?' She wasn't sure whether she said it or not… But oh… her whole body had felt so numb just a little while ago and now it's in so much pain… She moved her heavy hand to reach for his face just to wipe those tears away, even when her body throbbed with pain that could drive a person insane… 'Heero… Why are you crying?'

He saw hands move over Relena's body… and it faintly registered that they were there to help. They ripped her blouse open, her beautiful breasts for them to see, and he saw that dark red-black hole just beneath her left breast. 

He stopped breathing and cringed. He wanted to cover her, but he knew he shouldn't… He had seen many people slowly die, had seen wounds that no ordinary person would be able to take… but those wounds didn't affect him the way her wound was tearing him apart. He couldn't look anymore and focused on her face instead. She seemed to be struggling with keeping her eyes open…

From the corner of his eyes, he saw her hand reach up to him halfway. He reached for it instinctively and brought it to his face. He kissed it and tasted blood… 

She blinked, trying to fight off the darkness that seemed to swallow her vision…

Heero saw the diminishing light in her eyes… It's dull blue green now… dull eyes that met his watery Prussian ones…

"Relena… Everything will be all right…" His voice didn't sound like it belonged to him as he stared at her pale face while her opened lips gasped for air like a fish out of water…

Her body was lifted up and Heero followed. He wasn't going to let go of her… Never. He's not ready to let her go… He followed without a care about anything else but her… only for her…

Relena could barely see him… She could barely breathe… Somehow… she knew that the bullet had gone through her lung… His lips moved but she couldn't hear… Is she going to die? If so… No more secrets… Oh but she wants to tell him something… "Heero…" It hurt so much to speak… "I love you…" Then, it was as if the last candle had been blown away by a cold wind and darkness finally enveloped her vision…

Her voice didn't reach him but his eyes read her lips. No… Not yet… Not right now… "Relena… Relena open your eyes…" 

She didn't…

He saw her breathe shallowly once again… So out of synch… He couldn't do anything!

"Relena, hang on… Please… Stay with me… " 

Her body convulsed and his heart seemed to be ripped apart as he leaned over her face to touch his forehead against hers. "Fight, Relena… Fight like you've always done…" His chest rocked with sobs as her hand slackened in his hold.

He shook his head. He won't accept this… Not her. Anybody but her. "Don't leave me… Please don't leave me…" The strangled whisper reached deaf ears.

His feet followed the gurney and he didn't even notice that he had entered the ambulance, never noticed that they stopped, and that they were already inside the hospital until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, firm enough to stop his cold, uncoordinated, shocked body. "Please… stay with me…" His words were wrenched from his burning throat as he stared at Relena's pale face.

"Heero… let Sally take care of her."

Her hand slipped from his as she was carried through steel double door… "Let me go…" He wants to follow her…

"Heero… You know that Sally will take care of her."

He knows that voice… but at that moment… he couldn't put a face… then he knew. "Une…" He turned to her.

Une nearly stepped back as a blast of emotion tumbled from Heero's dazed eyes.

"Sally… is… there?" He seemed to be having trouble speaking… He couldn't move his jaw right… He couldn't… feel right.

"Heero, didn't you see her? She told you that she's going to look after Relena…" Une squeezed Heero's shoulder, trying to make him feel something…

Heero shook his head. "No… I didn't…" He turned away from Une… He didn't see Sally… what he saw were gloved hands, once pristine, now crimson with blood… What he saw was Relena's face in pain… What he saw was her clothes ripped apart and her skin covered in dark, red blood… He glanced at his hand, the one that held Relena before he let her slip away… It glistened like dark, liquid ruby under the dim hospital lights… Blood… 

Her blood…

Something snapped in him and he lost it.

Une could only watch as Heero punched and kicked the wall… as he grabbed a table from aside and toppled it over… as he let his wild frustration loose while she held a stopping hand to the guards in the area.

"Let him be." More metal hit the floor.

"Yes ma'am…" 

She lost track of time… for how long Heero's paroxysm lasted… When he finally gave up, slumped against the wall, and slid down, she moved. He placed his head in his hands and leaned down while his shoulders shuddered… Une could barely believe the sobbing sounds that came from his curled body…

The door behind her opened and a hurried, gasping voice replaced the minute's silence.

"Mother… I saw…" Mariemaia stopped in her tracks as she saw Une's stiff body some feet away from Heero's dismal one.

"I wasn't able to protect her…" His voice was muffled but the two women heard it…

"Heero, Relena walked into the line of fire… You couldn't have stopped her even if you tried." Une patiently, reasonably explained… She must get him calmed again… He's too over the edge… 

Heero slammed his head against the wall again and again. He doesn't deserve her. "I wasn't able to protect her… I wasn't…" How could he have let her down? He promised to protect her… promised it to her and more so, to himself. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been him?! She made him realize so much… things he couldn't put to words…

His head was throbbing painfully and he couldn't seem to focus on one thought. Too much… The gunshot repeated itself in his mind and he felt like screaming as he grabbed his head. 

__

A priest bent over his intoxicated body...

Her face… 

__

An understanding smile…

Relena's smile…

__

A firm, helping hand…

A soft, gentle, caressing one…

__

A guiding star…

Baby…

__

A cross…

"God… please don't let her die… please… you shouldn't…" He had never asked for his help before… but right now, anything... anything for Relena.

More sobs escaped his lips and Une saw how a strong man wept…

Mariemaia stared at Heero in dismay. For the first time, he was showing signs of weakness at a time when strength was needed!

A frown appeared on Une's face as she watched Mariemaia walk towards Heero then stop right in front of him

"I'm sorry…" Mariemaia whispered to Heero who was looking at her but not really seeing her… Then, she leaned down and slapped him. Slapped him as hard as she could.

The unearthly glaze over Heero's eyes disappeared as he stared at Mariemaia in surprise.

She slapped him again. "You did your best to protect her! Miss Relena willingly sacrificed her life for the President! Nobody could protect her from herself, Heero! How do you think Ms. Relena will feel when she finds you like this, moping around as if she's already dead! She isn't going to die!" Mariemaia's hands grabbed his shoulders and shook him like a rag doll. "You hear me, Heero Yuy! She's not going to die!" She isn't! She owed just as much to Relena as to her mother…

Une's eyes widened at Mariemaia's outburst but before she could comment, she heard footsteps stop just behind her.

"Ma'am."

Une turned while Mariemaia abruptly stopped her outburst then along with Heero, fastened eyes on the soldier who just came in. They saw him hand Une a plastic bag.

"These were found on the man's body… Three bullets went through his head."

Heero felt slight satisfaction from the report as he stood up and walked to check what the man gave Une. Mariemaia followed his lead.

"Twelve is dead and Seven was wounded."

Mariemaia and Heero stood beside Une as she stared at the contents of the bag.

"Where were these found?" Une asked as she studied the symbols on the golden buttons…

"On both sides of the lapels, Ma'am… Almost like-"

"A soldier." Une, Mariemaia and Heero finished together. Une glanced at the man. "Anything else?"

"Yes ma'am… The assassin had been declared dead for nearly three years."

"Dead?" Mariemaia whispered in slight confusion… 

Une's hands fisted. The body of the man Wufei had sent back with their forensics team to check had the exact background- he had been declared dead… What does this mean? "Gather more MO's on this man. I want you to report to me as soon as you can."

"Yes Ma'am." The soldier saluted then left.

"Another secret war… another secret army…" Mariemaia's whisper reached Heero's ears as she stared at the pins… She had seen pictures of charred ones only yesterday… Charred ones from a burnt warehouse… and from a body…

Une faced Heero. He needs to know. "Another set, with these designs, were found on three bodies. Right now, Wufei and the Intelligence Alliance are investigating the site."

"Another army." Heero repeated Mariemaia's observation, his thoughts finally cleared… He knew exactly what he must to do, now… At least this was something he could understand… something he knew so well…

Une saw his train of thought and quickly shook her head. "No… Heero, don't do it." She placed a hand on his shoulder but Heero just shrugged it off to face the metal doors that Relena entered a little while ago.

'Relena…' He would like to see her face before he leaves but if he will not act now, the trail will grow cold… 'I'll be back… I promise…' He turned and walked past Une and Mariemaia.

"Heero! Where are you going?!" Mariemaia shouted. She could see purpose in his walk, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that he will just leave like this. Not when Relena was fighting for her life! He can't leave her alone again! "Stop! Heero, stop!"

"Heero! I command you to stop!" Une demanded at the same time, her tone imposing respect and action. 

Heero paused just as he reached the exit. "Une, I do not work for you yet… I'm going to find them and kill them… Every single bastard…"

"No!" Une cried out but Heero already walked out of the double doors. She gave a short, frustrated mental scream then faced her daughter. "Mariemaia, notify 05 to be alert for 01."

"Yes, Mother." Mariemaia snapped into character and hastily ran out of the hall.

Une closed her eyes then slumped against the pristine white hospital wall, suddenly feeling tired and lost. "When will it stop…?" Why are men so stubborn?! She didn't notice how long it had been but Mariemaia's 'Mother!' made her look up and frown at her daughter's troubled eyes.

"What is it?" Une frowned, trying to keep her headache to a minimum.

"Mother… we just received a message from Rascal… He needs your help ASAP…"

Une's face paled and she nearly staggered. Mariemaia quickly went to her side. "Rascal is… alive…? If he needs our help now… that could only mean…"

Mariemaia nodded solemnly. "Quatre Winner is in trouble…"

'No! Not another innocent life!' Une straightened as guilt enveloped her. It's her fault… She must go to Quatre… It's her fault he became involved… Trying to sort out her thoughts, she started to walk out of the room. "Mariemaia, mobilize the troops in Quadrant 12. Notify Wufei of the change and Sally Po when she's… finished. Get my jet ready. If Wufei finds out any more information about the bombing yesterday, send it to the HQ at Quad 12. I'll contact the Intelligence."

Mariemaia nodded as she followed Une to the parking lot.

"Mother…"

Une stopped and turned as she heard the soft voice. "What is it, Mariemaia?"

Mariemaia stepped closer and then hugged her. "Please be careful."

Une kissed her daughter's red hair then pushed her away to look at her… to memorize her features if anything happens to her… "You know that I will always be." She lovingly smiled at her. "I have you to return to…" Then, with a slight squeeze on Mariemaia's shoulder, she turned away. 

Mariemaia stepped back to watch Une walk to her car then stop.

"Mariemaia, one more thing." Charlie had contacted her before she left her office, panicked just as a brother should be… Zechs, well… he has a mind of his own, wherever he may be. Wufei probably has no idea of what happened as of yet… Trowa… well, she doesn't know where he is right now. She will take care of Quatre but why hasn't Duo and Hilde showed up? Why haven't they called?

"Yes, ma'am?" Her back straightened as she awaited the command.

"I want you to be in charge of informing Duo and Hilde about what happened to Relena. The mere fact that they are still not here… that they haven't contacted us… it could only mean that they don't know. With Arche after them…" She left her sentence hanging and knew that her daughter understood. "Look for them." Une stepped inside her car and the red corvette revved to life, speeding out of the driveway in a hurry…

A single tear escaped her control and fell down Mariemaia's cheek, well aware of the hazards in the Quadrant her mother was going to. Another tear fell down for her friends... Then, she wiped it and straightened her shoulders. There are things to be done. It wasn't the time to lag.

"Yes… mother…"

{AN: I hope that you all have enjoyed this as much as the first story. Heero is a complex character to write about and it was hard to justify his maturity and, at the same time, old habits to the ten years that he had been gone, but I hope that I was able to. I have always thought of Relena as strong, I just emphasized on her friendship with Duo and Hilde, also Wufei and Quatre. For now, this is it. Who do you think is the next story going to feature? Here is a prelude of things to come, and… er, I'm having a bit of a writer's block, but I'm really trying my best to get over it- if I don't post Quatre's first chapter by this week, gomen:}

**__**

Story Three: Remnants of Reality

"Excuse me." Quatre started as he walked to the woman, briefcase held lightly within his grasp. The woman turned and Quatre stared into familiar brown eyes… She smiled tentatively and Quatre's frown drew in a little deeper. He could sense that this woman was a friend, but for the life of him, though she looked somewhat familiar, he couldn't quite put his finger on a name…

"Good morning Quatre. I hope you don't mind my intrusion."

'That voice!' The observation rang in his head. Then, his clear, aquamarine eyes showed complete recognition. "Lady Une? Colonel Une?"

****

… 

Quatre glanced out of his jet window and saw the red carpet being laid outside. Garlands of flowers hung from a shining metal stairway that was being pushed towards his plane while a squad of soldiers marched in perfect synchronization…'I'm here Une… I will try to not let you down…' He breathed in deeply, trying to ease his pounding heart. He was nervous and that terrible feeling of anticipation was making his stomach do the most sickening flips.

"Sir, we have arrived."

__

From there, I can only wish you luck, Quatre.


	25. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 1

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter One  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

__

"Fear death?- to feel the fog in my throat,  
The mist in my face,  
When the snows begin, and the blasts denotes  
I am nearing the place,  
The power of the night, the press of the storm,  
The post of the foe;  
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,  
Yet the strong man must go:  
For the journey is done and the summit attained,  
And the barriers fall,  
Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon he gained,  
The reward of it all.  
I was ever a fighter, so- one fight more,  
The best and the last!"  


- Prospice by Robert Browning -

~*~

Knotted vines protruded from the ground and mingled with thick trees that created a curtain for those within the forest… Humans played hide and seek with existence that tottered between life and death in that time of darkness… Night creatures could only watch with glittering eyes while a lone figure, agile as a rabbit, ran carelessly with the wind and squadrons of men skittered about like a desperate pack of hyenas. 

The summer night air was humid against sweaty skin… 

The figure stumbled but recovered just in time.

Amidst the deep forest, angry voices shouted commands here and there. Gunshots rang with each trigger pulled by impatient fingers. Threats and expletives tore through the atmosphere, clear as the howl that left the throat of a lurking wolf.

The figure ducked. 'They're trigger happy tonight.' An eyebrow rose. Funny how amusing a person could become when pressured and fighting for life- or was this hysteria? 'Just a few more yards…' Hope was the only thing that kept the figure running. Hope that- 

A smile appeared upon badly chapped lips as a boulder came to view, the marker for the cliff's edge, and for the hidden treasure.

The shadowed figure stopped, quickly kneeled on the ground, and started clawing through the wet soil at the base of the stone. 'Where the hell is it…?' Dirt inserted themselves under fingernails but who cares about dirt at a time like this? Hygiene versus saving lives, and the latter won. 

Fingers knocked against something thick and hard.

'Yes. Finally!' Nimble hands pulled out a box that was quickly opened. Steel glinted against moonlight as the figure calmly pulled out the mechanism. A few switches were flipped. A button was turned. An antenna automatically erected itself from the side of the box, and finally, that heavenly beeping red light.

"Code: Rascal. Message 12. The Yacht El Salvador. Bull is in red. I repeat, bull is in red!" A prayer left those cold lips. "Preventers, TRONTOME! Main! Preventers! TRON-"

Consecutive blasts exploded from behind. Bullets went through the figure's body and blood spluttered onto the small, black console. Rascal gasped, and instantly clutched the bleeding side. 'No matter how many times… being fired at always hurt so much…' 

"Stand up!" 

The order was short and sweet- sweet with the taste of death. 'Ah death… Is this the end?' To just die in front of these bastard dogs who could not even think for oneself…? Who were too afraid to question Morley? The sadistic thoughts ended just as soon as they started. Confidence radiated through Rascal once again as sharp, lavender eyes cut through those who thought that he was captured. Those men were probably quaking in their underwear…

The figure stood up and turned, eyes slanted in anger after the initial surprise… 

Surrounded. The cliff behind, and the men in front… Either way, it seemed as if the jaws of death had finally caught this lone figure.

Blood trickled through cotton sleeve. For a moment, a prayer of thanks escaped those cold, dry lips for the veil of the night.

All guns were trained to the shadowed chest while a soldier walked to the box and then smashed it under his foot.

Rascal smirked. "You were too late." The low voice traveled to the ears of nervous soldiers. 'The base was warned…' With that sound thought in mind, a decision was made. Rascal kicked the nearest gun, turned, and leaped off the edge of the cliff.

****

… 

Two months later:

BLOMP!

Handsome aquamarine eyes snapped wide open in alarm and quickly stared toward the side of the bed where the weight had dropped. He didn't see anything…

A chain of giggles came from nowhere.

A small smile lighted his face. "I think I might need an exorcist… There's a poltergeist in my house! Hmmm… it sounds like a little girl…"

"Nobody can catch me!" The tiny declaration came with fingers that tickled Quatre's foot, instantly making him cry out in surprise.

"That's it! No one tickles Quatre Winner in the morning and gets away with it!" He sat up and instantly grabbed the clump of sheets at the base of his bed.

Laughter, squeals, and gasps rang in the air as Quatre tickled the creature under the sheets-

"I give up! I give up! Stop!" She panted yet her voice was full of merriment that Quatre couldn't help but stop and take off the blanket.

"Oh-ho! What is this! I see a little Princess under my blanket!" He faked a surprised look that instantly made the 'little Princess' roll to her back and laugh. Quatre could only grin as he watched the her fondly. She's going to be a beautiful lady when she grows older… Platinum blonde hair, green eyes, and a cheerful disposition... He's so proud of her! Not to mention- first in her class! 

When she finally stopped, she stood on the bed and gave him a hug. "Mommy told me to wake you up and tell you that breakfast is ready."

Her face was so near that he could see the light freckles sprinkled over her cute button nose. He touched the tip of his nose to her freckled ones and rubbed it. "Okay. Tell your mommy that I'll be down very-"

"Quatre! Have you seen – Kershja! I've been looking all over the place for you!" A woman came inside, diverting Quatre's attention from the little girl. No questions as to where Kershja got her looks! Even in her pajamas, topped with her messy hair- or so she'll say later on while they eat breakfast- Uretta was beautiful.

"Hi mommy! You told me to wake-"

"My little Princess here was trying to wake the big lug up." Quatre finished Kershja's sentence as he placed a stopping hand on the little girl's shoulder.

Uretta shook her head. "You're going to make her head swell like a balloon if you don't stop calling her Princess."

Quatre grinned guiltily.

Kershja frowned. "What's 'swell like a balloon'?"

The two adults looked at each other then Quatre hugged Kreshja while he winked at Uretta. He just loves her innocence. It was just so fresh and lively… so full of life. "That means it's time for you to go to school and for me to go to work."

Kershja grimaced. "Oh… Yuck." She jumped out of the bed and grimly walked to her mom. "See you later then…" An exaggerated sigh escaped her pouting lips but Quatre could see a twinkle in her eyes that belied her excitement for school.

"See you later, Princess!" His eyes slowly wandered from Kershja to Uretta's face and the serious look she was giving him wiped his grin away. "Okay… _Now_ what did I do?"

"You are spoiling her." Uretta crossed her arms then leaned against the doorframe while her voice came out in a hushed tone. "David is going to have some hard shoes to fill with the way you're treating his little girl… You know what I mean Quatre."

Quatre looked away. "Yes… I know… I'm sorry… I didn't mean it…" He sighed then propped his chin on his hand. "I'll try to stick to the Uncle side of things. It's just a bit hard though… She's a wonderful chid."

A proud smile appeared on Uretta's face. "Yes… she is."

"Wish I can have a little daughter or a little son like that…"

A towel hit him on his face and Quatre cried out in surprise. "Hey!" He grabbed the towel and playfully glared at his sister. "What was that for?!!!"

"Li'l Bro, start thinking that way after you get married. Right now, you're not married and you have a business to run so go take your shower and go to work!"

The playful smile on Uretta's face didn't express her angry tone of voice and Quatre imitated what Kershja did just a little while ago. He pouted, slumped his shoulders, sighed, and then walked in deject to the bathroom. "Yes mother…"

Another towel hit him at the back of his head. 

"Ow!"

"I'm not your mom! I'm just your older sister!"

Before he could turn around, the door slammed close and he knew she left. With a grin on his lips, he grabbed the towel on the floor. It feels so good to tease his sister in the morning. If she ever found out that he's thankful her house has termites, and that he asked the exterminators to delay, she'd probably kill him. The thing was, he's lonely, and having them to share this large house was slightly enough to fill an empty hole inside him. 

Funny how he became close to all his sisters, but of course, he wouldn't have it any other way. He took off his pajamas and shivered slightly as cold air hit his skin. Jumping inside the tub, he quickly turned on the shower. It was time to go to work…

****

… 

Winner Enterprise Main Building, Colony U-561 

0800 Hours 

A man in his mid-twenties walked with lithe grace to the last mahogany door. His platinum blond hair was in perfect order, not a strand out of place, while his impeccable black suit was without a single crease. 

A smile of greeting left his face when he saw his secretary, organizing her desk, and he let the hum of daily, office life envelop his being… or maybe that was his fax machine…

'Another day… another mountain full of work…' His hand stopped turning the doorknob and he silently shook the negative thoughts out of his head. 'Quatre, it's not good to start a day thinking like that!' Why was it that his mind had lately become polluted by sarcastic thoughts?

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the lion's den noiselessly. His den, his office, his prison- Quatre promptly stopped in his tracks. A frown appeared on his face and he quickly looked back to his blonde haired secretary outside his door, then looked back inside his office… He blinked, but the person didn't disappear.

Another woman with the same hairstyle was inside his office! A woman who has the same likeness as his secretary from behind! It was either he's seeing double or he needs a pair of glasses! 

"Excuse me." Quatre started as he walked to the woman, briefcase held lightly within his grasp.

The woman turned and Quatre found himself staring into familiar brown eyes… 

She smiled tentatively.

Quatre's frown drew in a little deeper. He could sense that this woman was a friend, but for the life of him, though she looked somewhat familiar, he couldn't quite put his finger on a name…

His trail of thought disappeared and his eyes widened slightly. 'No…'

"Good morning Quatre. I hope you don't mind my intrusion."

'That voice!' The observation rang in his head. Then, his clear, aquamarine eyes showed complete recognition. "Lady Une? Colonel Une?"

The woman in front of him smiled without humor while her hand went up to the first button of her blouse. She unbuttoned it then slipped her right hand under her collar.

Quatre gazed on curiously until the woman's skin moved. 

With flourish, she tore off the skin at the base of her neck and pulled off her face, along with the curly mane of blonde hair, to reveal a tight bun of chestnut brown hair and pale, yet very familiar face. "You are correct, Quatre."

His frown disappeared as he finally let go of his briefcase and stood in front of his guest with a smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Une's brown eyes darkened seriously, and… was that slight panic enveloping her usual calm, placid face? "Quatre… we need your help."


	26. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 2

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Two  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

****

Quatre's head tilted sideways, concern so evident in his eyes. He had felt that she needed help from the very start, and Une… Well… The Preventer Unit does not usually ask for help, especially not from a civilian- even if he was once a Gundam pilot. "What's the matter, Lady Une?" He glanced at the mask, clutched in her hand. "Why the disguise?"

"I think you should sit down before I start with the explanations." Une gracefully bent to the floor and grabbed a folder from the bag beside the chair while Quatre willingly complied with her suggestion just as a deep sense of foreboding dread slowly crept in him.

"I believe that you know the country Arche?" She placed the folder on his desk, the 'confidential' stamp in large, red, bold letters over the folder, sending a sense of foreboding.

Quatre nodded while his eyebrow shot up in question. Une waved her hand for permission and Quatre opened the folder while he stated some facts he knew of. "Saved throughout the years of hardship by proper manipulation of people in power. A military government with James Morley as the Supreme ruler… A hermit country, cut off from the world, yet they produce the most magnificent jewels on Earth, eradicating the theory that they may be a third world country. Not to mention that… nobody has set foot in, or out of Arche for the past half century save for its representatives…"

Une nearly smiled at the quick, efficient way Quatre answered. It was exactly her style. "We have reason to believe that Arche had been- and still is- building nuclear weaponry in secret."

Quatre's eyes, reading through a printed message, jerked up to look at Une. "Nuclear? But that's against the World Alliance's Constitutional Bylaws! True… they're not exactly an active member, but it was still a set rule." He couldn't keep the panicked tone from his voice. Nuclear weaponry had gone through many strides during the centuries since it first started… and with it, the lives of many people and Earth's defacement.

"Exactly." Une nodded her agreement. "But, according to our source, there are nuclear bombs being built. How many? Why? I do not know."

Quatre skimmed through the report and decoded messages, and got the gist of the situation. "Why are you asking for my help? Why not Heero, Wufei, Duo, or Trowa, or any other Preventer? Why me?"

Une smiled softly, though sadness echoed in her eyes. "There had been a leak in the Organization. According to our source, Arche has knowledge of every single Preventer in each region and quadrant." That was why she had started looking for Heero Yuy, but that detestable man just does not want to be found! Why wouldn't he show up when he is needed?

"I'm sorry." Quatre's aquamarine eyes showed his commiseration for his friend. Une had worked hard to protect her soldiers. Having information leaked to the outside world was exactly what she did not want to happen. It was the security breach she had tried so hard to prevent. 

"That is alright. I am concerned for those under my command, but there is nothing we can do but be on our guard. They're trained to endure, not Gundam pilot training, but trained, all the same. We are still trying to find our bug, but we still do not have any leads. As for the others, Heero Yuy has a high profile as a Gundam pilot from the previous two wars..."

Quatre nodded his agreement. "Therefore, the moment he sets foot on Arche, he will be a suspect."

"Correct." A sort of grimace came over her face. "Duo Maxwell also has a high profile in Arche. He's…" Une coughed slightly. "Public enemy number One."

"Pardon?" Quatre's eyes widened in absolute shock- now _this_ was news! It would be just like Duo… Something he'd do in style and with open eyes… but… "Why?"

Une frowned in slight confusion… Why doesn't he know? "Haven't you been following the news?"

Quatre shook his head, at the same time, tried to think clearly. "I have… I just don't know… Why he would be…"

"James Morley's younger brother was humiliated world wide by Duo at Hartwater. According to our source, James Morley took it as a personal insult, twisted it into a national insult, and declared Duo Maxwell the country's enemy."

The look of confusion instantly disappeared from Quatre's face as he remembered _the_ incident. When arrived in Hartwater, he saw a wide screen monitor on top of a high building. The show? Duo was beating the daylights out of someone- actually, Morley looked as if he was winning, but Duo got the upper hand. He almost forgot that the person was James' brother.

"I see that you remember. How Duo ever got the nerve to insult a dictator's brother, I have no idea." Une didn't even bother to hide the frustration in her voice. Duo was her first choice for this job- cheerful, outgoing personality that belies the intelligence in his quick mind- Morley would surely think him dim-witted and slow. Also, his steel business would prick the interest of someone building nuclear warheads… And he just had to blotch it up!

Quatre just grinned. He could see exactly what Une was thinking… "It was all for love. It was Duo's best performance, actually."

Now it was Une's turn to raise an eyebrow. 

Quatre's grin faded at Une's hidden question. "I presume… you never saw the tape?" The look of confusion on Une's face was his answer. "Oh, yes… Of course… I took the original taped scene so no one would be able to copy it." Quatre's grin reached ear to ear with enthusiasm. "Would you like to see it?" 

Une's stared at Quatre incredulously. "You didn't!"

"I did." Quatre nodded. "My wedding present for both of them. I also made sure there was never a copy of it made… except for that last kiss and a quick look at Morley's younger brother." A short, mischievous laugh escaped him as he remembered the pains her sister Jasmine went through with a certain network. "Investigated and destroyed."

Une's lips turned upwards in the most cheerful smile Quatre had ever seen on her face. "You know… you have a black streak when you want to use it."

Quatre almost clapped. Oh yes! It was fun to finally not think along the lines of strict business and politics. But, right now… back to business. "I take it that Wufei is out of the picture because Arche would have his profile from the Preventer's data?" Quatre stated, entwining his hands together.

Une nodded, rearranging her thoughts back in line. "Yes, and Trowa Barton is missing in action."

Quatre smiled softly at the mention of his best friend. He really doesn't have any clue about to Trowa's whereabouts, but his friend could take care of himself. "No… he's just hiding somewhere…"

"That leaves you. We do not have any file under your name, but you do have a file as a Gundam pilot. Being that, James will expect the Organization to contact you."

"Which leads us to why you were wearing a disguise, am I correct?" Quatre asked as he leaned forward and pointed at her mask.

"Yes. We cannot take any more chances. We need you to be clean. Even with your Gundam background, the fact that you have not been in contact with the Preventers and that you have lived your life as a civilian will question their suspicion.""

"What about your source in Arche? If Arche has files on each Preventer…" Quatre looked down at the papers in the open folder. A minute passed… two… still no answer from Une… Quatre looked up and saw a haunted look in her eyes.

"Lady Une? Are you all right?" Concern etched itself upon his face as he began to feel utmost sadness from this usually placid woman. 

His question finally seeped through Une as she shook her head and faced him once again. "Pardon me."

Quatre stood up, walked around his table, and stopped in front of her. He reached out and touched her shoulder. "Lady Une…?"

Une stared into his mature aquamarine eyes and smiled sadly. "I would be lying if I say that I am…"

"What's wrong?" Quatre let her go and sat at the edge of his desk, ready to listen and give comfort.

Une sighed. "My source in Arche does not have a record with the Preventers because I did not created one for him. What use of it now…?" She looked away. "He might already be… dead."

Silence encompassed the room… The hopelessness in Une's voice shook Quatre. He didn't know what to say… Why would Lady Une do something like that? Then again, a nagging thought kept on tugging at his mind. "I'm sorry I have to ask this, but how trustworthy is your source?"

For a moment, Une's eyes hardened, then she saw through his question. She sighed once again. "Very trustworthy… He was one of the best in Oz… I didn't ask him for records because I knew him… He was…" Une looked away. She was so close to him… They grew up together… went to Oz together… 'Robert…' Une closed her eyes as old memories flashed in her mind. "My cousin."

Once again, silence encompassed the two. Quatre bit his inner lip. He knew exactly what she's going through…"He may not be dead…" It might be wrong to get her hopes up but…

"No Quatre… It is all right… The coded message relayed gunshots, and from that day on, we haven't heard from him…" Une clasped her hands together. "It's all right… really… we haven't seen each other for fifteen years… we knew what we were getting ourselves into when we joined the militia… it's all right…"

Quatre could only look at Une… She had said 'it's all right' so many times that it seemed as if she was also trying to convince herself of it, trying to make herself believe it. Then, he saw her back straighten and that look of confidence entered her. She was the Lady once again.

"As for your question of dependability, Rascal never missed a single due report to the base, except for twice in all his twenty years of service to me. His loyalty runs through blood, as my loyalty to him. The first time, he had not contacted the base two and a half months, nearly two years ago. The second time was two months ago."

Quatre reached for the folder once again and quickly skimmed through the decoded message. "I see why you would think that he's… dead… Aside from the recorded gunshots, he had also reported that they were on to him…"

"Yes. That is so."

The pros and cons weighed itself in Quatre's mind… Con: he'll have to leave his business, then again, Rashid can handle it quite well… Con: He might die, then again, he's not afraid to die… he had faced death before. Pro: He'll be preserving peace if there is a nuclear threat. Pro: He'll be helping a friend by investigating if Rascal is truly dead. Pro: He'll be helping the whole Organization if he finds the database with all Preventer's information and delete it… Pro: The future will be better… 

Une saw the decisions flit through his expressive eyes. She wouldn't blame him if he answers no-

"What do you want me to do?"

For a second, she was stunned, and then a soft smile appeared on her face, a smile of gratitude. "We need facts that Arche does have nuclear threats, and that they have plans to use these bombs against the world. Once we have those, we will take over Arche and dismantle them."

Quatre walked to his window as another thought nagged at his mind. "This doesn't have anything to do with the President of the World Alliance's grudge against Arche's thriving anti-democratic government, does it?"

"I would be lying if I say that it doesn't. But that reason is at the bottom of my list. I want Arche because they are a threat. I believe my cousin's reports about James being a murderer. Being that kind of a person, he will not hesitate to use the bombs against us. I do not wish for our hard earned Peace to be ruined."

Quatre nodded. What Une had said is true. "Nor do I, Lady Une… Nor do I…"

Une glanced at the mature man in front of him… How he had grown, yet how little he changed… still the kind-hearted man she met a long time ago… It's still a wonder to her how he was able to come out of the wars unchanged!

Quatre turned around and smiled at Une. There's only one more question to ask.

"When do I leave?"

{Heartfire's Note: I think the infamous writer's block is finally leaving, though I still feel its strains at the back of my mind. I hope you all liked this so far. Do not worry. I will not just leave Heero and Relena behind. This is a saga, afterall. It is going to intertwine in the end. Enjoy the vacation while it last, since mine is already over. I'll try my old schedule of posting, but just in case WB hits me again, if you want me to tell you when I update, my email is open. Take care everyone!}


	27. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 3

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Three  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

You will leave the moment you receive notification of acceptance by Morley. 

Quatre looked at the official, crisp letter in his hands once again, re-reading the invitation. He had written to Morley to allow him to visit the country, and offered a business proposal as bait. 

Almost two weeks ago, he received the reply… The answer was a surprising yes. He will be honored as a guest by the government.

__

After you received their acceptance, try to notify us in any possible way. We will not contact you after today so you have to be… creative.

"Master Quatre, why are you doing this?!" Rashid's condescending tone came once again, but Quatre could hear the hidden concern. The young man patted Rashid's muscular arm. 

"It's all right, Rashid. Everything will go smoothly." Though he said it, he didn't believe it himself. That foreboding feeling had stayed in his heart…

Rashid shook his head as dread seeped through him. "That means that there _will_ be trouble. Why can't you take any of us? Why do this alone?" He couldn't understand it.

"You know that it will be very suspicious if I bring a Maguanac with me. I will already be under watch and any of my guests will have twice the security. It will be too much trouble."

"But-"

Quatre shook his head, instantly cutting off Rashid's protest. "If anything does happen to me… Remember to take care of everything." Quatre tried his best to show Rashid his confidence. "Especially my family." He had gone through many… precautions these past few days, in case something does happen to him.

Rashid sighed heavily. There's no turning Quatre's decision. He shouldn't even have hoped.

"Rashid…" Quatre stopped and turned, waiting for the answer.

"Yes… yes… You know that I will take care of them…"

"Thank you… Good bye, my friend." Quatre whispered with a soft smile.

Rashid nodded then bowed. "Until you come back, Master Quatre." He will never say good-bye to this young man. His eyes followed Quatre as the lad turned away, walked alone through the passageway… and disappeared. "My friend…" came the slight whisper that left him. Then with his heart and mind, he whispered a prayer of protection.

__

When you land, there will be officials waiting for you. Morley might or might not be there at your arrival. You are a special guest of the embassy, a prize in the world of business and politics.

Quatre glanced out of his jet window and saw the red carpet being laid outside. Garlands of flowers hung from a shining metal stairway that was being pushed towards his plane while a squad of soldiers marched in perfect synchronization…

'I'm here Une… I will try to not let you down…' 

He breathed in deeply, trying to ease his pounding heart. He was nervous and that terrible feeling of anticipation was making his stomach do the most sickening flips.

"Sir, we have arrived."

Quatre looked at Morley's official pilot. 'The man really doesn't trust anyone…' He nodded and stood up, tugged at the lapels of his suit then followed the man's wake. He couldn't believe that he went through three different security measures just for this flight!

The door opened, and for the first time, Quatre was given his view of Arche- or, to be more specific, Arche's airport.

"SALUT!"

The booming cry nearly deafened Quatre as he walked down the stairs. The two rows of soldiers all hailed their swords into the air. Quatre faltered. He didn't know whether to walk on further, or to await a signal. After all, he doesn't know the customs of this secluded country!

A limousine pulled up at the end of the plush, red carpet and a handsome man who carried an aura of command, emerged from its dark interior. A person would be blind not to distinguish this man to be James Morley, what with all those medals that hung upon his lapels!

"Mr. Winner!" His voice was melodious as he walked towards Quatre, his deep-set eyes focused on the young man who was quoted to be more important than the World Alliance President.

'Morley.' The thought registered as Quatre smiled at the seemingly forty-ish man, and walked forward. No one has ever seen the dictator of Arche outside this country… only his brother… The thought of James Morley's humiliated brother widened Quatre's smile. "President Morley." Quatre greeted, extending his hand.

They shook hands, quite jovially in fact.

__

Never let him think that you are after anything but business in his country. I will have a platoon ready for your signal if trouble arises.

"I'm so glad to finally get a chance to see your country."

Morley nodded enthusiastically. "Call me James, Mr. Winner. You should have written your interest to us earlier. We would have accepted you with arms open wide."

'And with a gun pointed at my heart…' The sadistic thought entered his mind and Quatre instantly erased it. "Then, call me Quatre, James." They were too cheerful… It didn't seem right… 

James nodded. "Shall we move along?"

"Of course." Quatre nodded as he walked alongside the man. They were of the same height, but physically, where Quatre was light in every aspect, James was dark haired, and olive skinned.

__

From there, I can only wish you luck, Quatre.

An official opened the limousine door.

James bowed to Quatre, a signal for him to enter first. With one last look around the airport, one last look at the only chance for escape… Quatre entered the black limousine like a corpse entering a coffin. 'Yes… Good Luck to me…'

The door closed… the engine roared… and hence, it started… his life on Arche. Adventure, mystery and… whatever else lies ahead.

****

… 

Two Hours Later

"And that ends your personal tour of Castle Morjho." James spread his arms to his sides as he faced the clearly awed Arabian. "How do you like my home?"

Quatre half smiled and nodded as he noted the Baroque armors, Renaissance paintings and other antiques that decorated the hallway. "Your home is quite impressive, James. This Castle was built around circa…?"

"Circa 1700, 1722 to be exact." James proudly announced as he clapped his hands to a servant who had been standing by. The servant bowed and left.

Quatre nodded once again. The Castle was quite beautifully restored. The marble flooring of dark blue hue with intricate designs on each square had made him think twice before walking on it, and the intricate carvings of mystical animals above head made him want to just stare at the ceiling all day long. Everything about the house was right… except for the host.

"Will I be given the pleasure to see the dungeons?" He wasn't looking for a fight, but something about James just didn't seem right to Quatre… something kept ticking him off. He's glad Duo was able to smudge this person's family tree… 'Hmmm… I wonder where that Lawrence is…'

The telltale darkening in James' eyes showed Quatre more than he bargained for but before he could be sure, the man's cheery demeanor replaced it. "No, you will not. The architects of this country during that century did not like having dungeons at the basement of their castles. Rather, their elements of torture and carnage have a special house, often called Ululat."

"And where is this House of Ululat located?" Quatre prodded. He would like to put a sock in his mouth, just to stop his prying sadistic conversation, but try as he might, his tongue seemed to have gotten out of control. So far, he had been having continuous cruel and pessimistic thoughts. Why? He doesn't truly know.

James turned away from Quatre as the servant came back into the hall, tray in hand. "How about a drink. I'm quite thirsty, and with your long journey, I'm sure you are too, and famished."

Quatre nodded as he accepted the offer. "Yes, very much so. Thank you. Just water though. I do not drink." Their conversation is too stilted… too politely formal… it's so obvious that they were both wary of each other… Could it be that James suspects…? 

The servant offered a glass of water.

Quatre cautiously took it… Could it be that there's poison in his drink?

They sipped their drink in silence as they admired the paintings that adorned the massive walls here and there… 'Gory paintings,' Quatre thought to himself as he looked away from a knight who staked a man with his sword. Detailed so much so that the glistening blood that dripped down the tip of the sword seemed so real… And the anguish on the murdered man's face! 

Ah, Death… Cruelty… That was why he's here, to stop such things in the wake of another war… For Peace. Now, every time that he will pass this hall, he will be reminded.

"Do you like ballets, Quatre?" James asked languidly as he gently rotated his glass. The liquid lapped at the edge of the crystal, almost as if the wine itself didn't want to be drunk.

The dark thoughts that had covered his mind faded while images of children in pink tutus and leotards entered. He could only smile as he remembered one of his niece's ballet performances. "Yes… You could say that."

"Good, because I am taking you to our Performing Arts Center tonight for a grand performance by the best ballet dancer in the world!" James unceremoniously plunked his crystal goblet on the silver tray, still held by the meek servant.

"Best ballet dancer? What is the dancer's name?" Quatre asked, trying to remember any performing artist.

"Her name is Yvannyah Matfei."

Quatre saw the unquestionable look of pride and a softening about James' face.

"This is her first performance since she broke her ankle about a couple of months ago." James shook his head. "The stage… what a dangerous place to be, and yet that is where she is happy. I was not able to visit her since I had been… busy, and she had not wished to see anyone in her state." James shrugged. "Artists and their quirks."

Quatre nodded. James Morley does not have to lecture him about how girls- or women for that matter!- could get when they want something for themselves! A frown appeared on his face. 'There you go again… Another sadistic thought… Stop it!' With one last sip from his glass, he gracefully placed it on the tray.

"Very well. I would be honored to see Arche's artistry." Quatre looked away. 'A ballet in this calculating country… A form of creativity against death and destruction… how ironic… Then again,' His thoughts went to nature. How some animals change colors to lure their prey to their death… and… 'The deadliest prey is the most artistic and colorful of them all…'

"Sir." A man in uniform saluted to James. The dictator only nodded. "You are needed at Gate Four."

James turned to Quatre and gave him an apologetic look. "Excuse me, Quatre. Matters at hand. I'm sure you understand."

Quatre nodded. "Of course." Matters at hand, my foot. "What time should I be ready?"

"6:30 pm. A servant will take you to your quarters and remind you of the time." James bowed curtly. "Good day."

"Good day." Quatre reiterated and watched as the dark man walked out of the hall… A movement on the side caught Quatre's attention and he saw another servant, fidgeting in embarrassment. He couldn't help but smile at the man. 

The servant falteringly smiled back. "Shall I take you to your room, sir?"

Quatre looked around the hall one last time before he agreed. "Yes, of course." He followed the shy man and couldn't help but feel his nervousness. To help ease the man's nerves, he started a conversation. "So, what's your name? How long have you been working here?"

Shy responses and encouraging comments whispered inside the dreary hallways of Castle Morjho as they walked through the labyrinth of doors, passageways, and stairs…


	28. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 4

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Four  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

****

Quatre's breath caught in his throat as he took in the elegant building the moment they arrived. Arche's Cultural Center's architecture was superb! It was a fully restored Czar Tremonov era for theatrical plays. Of course, there were some added modern conveniences and structural enhancements for weather, among other things. Arche really does have a taste for the arts- or, at least, Arche's populace.

The people he had met, so far, all seemed to be from the upper class society. Wearing beads of pearls and sparkling gems from a variety of diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires! Most were definitely patrons- older people with hair twisted high on their head and men with their canes. This was an obvious social gathering of the elite pack… all here to see the ballet dancer- or that's what he gathered, any way… 

'Maybe she is good…' He still had to see for himself. Quatre's sharp eyes observed as the elitists greeted their host. Warm enough… but he could see an underlying indifference and sense coldness in some of them. 

A tray of champagne appeared in front of him and Quatre shook his head while James took another.

"When is it going to start?" He watched Morley sip his drink and, as if to answer, the place grew dim. He glanced at James and saw the man lean back comfortably, a smile of impatient pleasure on his lips. 

"Now…"

Quatre raised his eyebrow as he made himself comfortable. 'This man is either infatuated… or in love… but, how could a cold, scheming murderer feel something as soft and beautiful as love?' Quatre shook his head. Why is he starting to think like this? He never had trouble keeping such thoughts at bay! Why now? Suddenly, his eyes widened. 'Oh no! I forgot to call Relena!' Well… there's no use calling her now… He can not risk his standing. 'I'm sorry Relena…' He could almost imagine her worried look. 'Don't worry, I'm safe… I think…' His eyes trailed onto the stage as classical music filtered through the air while dancers twirled and did their antics…

'This is… tiresome…' Quatre grimaced. Much as he liked art, at the moment, he's tired and jetlagged… He would just like to hit the bed and sleep to his heart's content. Why he even said yes to this event was still a mystery! 

He was already nodding off to dreamland when a hand gripped his arm.

"There she is! Look at her…! She is magnificent! Exquisite!"

The pain that rushed up from his arm woke him more than the awed praise that came from Morley. Sleepily, and rather frustrated, Quatre opened his eyes to glare at the middle of the stage where the bright spotlight found its way upon a bent figure.

Quatre's right eyebrow rose. This was she? The one Morley was crying praise to be the best ballerina? She looked like a glass figurine!

The music softly ended and a new tune came to play. The woman slowly drew back and, so far away, Quatre could barely see her powdered white face… but somehow, he didn't need to… His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her.

She was mesmerizing! Her actions showed the right mood and tale… An indescribable intensity smoldered in her every twirl, every tilt of the head, and every whisper of her skirt around those slender legs… The beauty of her dance, the grace of it all, conveyed a world of feeling without saying a word... She seemed to be dancing as if worlds apart from the this place…

He didn't know that he was holding his breath during her performance but his chest started to hurt and his eyes started to water… He finally gasped in air just as her dance ended and the stage turned black.

She disappeared.

There were only two words to describe it… to describe what he's feeling, how she touched him with her dance of loss- "My God…"

"Yes… I know what you mean." Morley's voice also seemed out of breath. 

Quatre never knew that a dance could be so powerful! And to think that only Arche has the pleasure to view this rare wonder!

"I'm going down to see her. Would you like to come with me?" 

Quatre frowned. 'The show's over?' He stood up and willingly complied, his curiosity towards Miss Yvannyah Matfei truly tweaked.

The backstage was a disaster- clothes strewn on the floor here and there while half naked women strutted about without a care in the world… But Morley only had eyes for one door and Quatre was too noble to look at the goods being displayed.

He watched as Morley knocked and, after a few minutes, the door opened-

"Vanyah! You were wonderful! Absolutely perfique!" He bent to her for an embrace but Quatre saw the girl step back, not at all accepting the per functionary show of affection being given to her. And… to Quatre's expectance, Morley blushed.

"Good evening, James." The voice was soft but hallow and cold.

"Vanyah, I've missed you." Morley leaned down for a kiss but Quatre saw the girl place a gloved hand on his lips, stopping it mid-way.

'Allah! This woman is…' The shiver that went up Quatre's spine finished his sentence, but in a way, he's a bit happy that she was not responding to Morley's advances… Rather, he likes it! And- sorry to say- but seeing Morley in such an unmanly position was becoming enjoyable. Can't the man see that the woman was not interested in him?

It seemed as if the message was finally relayed to the star-struck dictator as he straightened and cleared his throat then moved to give ample space for Vanyah to introduce Quatre. "Yvannyah Matfei, this is Quatre Winner. He is an honorary guest of the government."

He didn't see her eyes before, being shadowed by her thick red bangs, but when she tilted her head ever so gracefully and looked at his direction, he saw the most amazing eyes, the color of clear crystal lavender! They spoke of intelligence and met his eyes rather coolly. For a moment, Quatre had the distinct feeling that she was hiding something from the world… 

"Good evening, Ms. Matfei." Quatre walked to her, reached for the offered gloved hand, and kissed it.

"Good evening to you, too, Mr. Winner." 

He slowly let go of her hand and looked at her small, oval shaped face. Her eyes seemed to dominate it all and her fragile bone structure showed clearly like that of the rising sun on a spring day, magnifying the intensity like a mirror. A tiny nose and luscious lips… She only came up to his shoulders- petite was the right word for her… Funny… she almost reminds him of fairies, sprites, or imps from Kershja's storybooks. Ivory skin reflecting an otherworldly beauty… For once, Morley was correct in his choice of words- Yvannyah Matfei was truly one exquisite woman.

"You are staring at me, Mr. Winner."

The forward remark shook Quatre out of his reverie. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Morley glare at him and in front, Ms. Matfei's unruffled stare. He couldn't believe what he just did! He had more manners than that! "Pardon me." Quatre bowed to hide the blush that started to rise to his cheeks. "I was merely remembering a storybook my niece showed me… Your resemblance to the fairy is quite remarkable!" 

He looked up, and for a moment, Quatre thought he saw life in those dull, lavender eyes. It shined for only a second before it disappeared then a calculated smile that could send even the most pious man insane appeared on her lips. 

"You must show me this book sometime, Mr. Winner. Maybe we could scour Arche's bookstores for it so that I may see the picture?"

Quatre nodded curtly while he swallowed to wet his suddenly parched throat. He had better stop making a fool of himself in front of these people. "I am sure that when there is ample time, James will be eager to help us look." He noted her voice, exotic, and heady with accent, though she pronounced her words quite beautifully… Her voice was not too low, not too soft… it was just right…

"Yes, of course. We can even see if my library has that book, Quatre. With Vanyah staying with us, she can also help."

The smile on James' face brought relief in Quatre. He just got himself out of a tight scrape there… Wait… Quatre frowned, a little confused- all right, _more_ than a little confused! "Vanyah will be staying with us?"

James nodded as he offered his arm to the fully dressed and coated Vanyah. "Yes. She is always a guest in my home whenever she is in Jubel. Her home is in Kelra, nearly three hours away- I couldn't possibly let her drive to and fro when she has shows at the Center."

Morley was talking to him but not looking at him- his eyes only for the indifferent Vanyah. "Yes, of course. A very logical decision." Quatre followed the two and could only observe Vanyah's straight neck and stiff shoulders. It's clear that she has a deep resentment to Morley but why does she not just tell him to get lost? Why was she putting up with him?

A bit frustrated, he couldn't stop himself and borrowed a phrase from Wufei- 'Women. Who could understand them?' Then again, Morley was a powerful man and sometimes… women just go after such men… Been there… 

They were inside the limousine when Quatre had another chance to talk and try to repair his reputation to the woman. "So, Ms. Matfei, what is your family background?" Quatre quickly kicked himself mentally with the tone he used- he sounded as if he was drilling her for a murder case for Pete's sake! "What I meant was, where did you get your passion for ballet?"

The hard look upon Yvan's- 

'Hmm… That's a good nickname for her… Yvan… I like that-' Quatre blinked. "Excuse me, I missed what you said. Would you repeat that again?"

Yvan shook her head. "Not at all. I love to talk about my parentage."

The shine in her eyes, very evident right at that moment, proved her point and Quatre couldn't help but stare at her once again.

"My mother is a pianist, my father was an artist."

'Was…' The verb repeated itself in Quatre's head and he could see the slight dimming in her eyes at the mention of her father. "He must have been quite an artist."

"Yes, he was." Yvan looked away. "Well, I suppose art just runs in the family and I was taught how to dance the ballet after I asked my father if he would let me learn it. I was four. Of course, he agreed and…" She glanced back at Quatre's piercing aquamarine eyes… Eyes that seemed to penetrate her very being… Eyes that seemed to know more about her each time they meet. He was strikingly handsome… His thick mane of hair that shone like the lightest blonde… was that what people call platinum? It seemed to call out for her to touch it. To run her hands through it and find that it might rival the finest silk… Yvan's eyes widened and she quickly looked down at her hands. Her throat had gone dry at the thoughts that evaded her usually levelheaded mind and she decided to finish it off. "Everything was history."

"Yes, of course." Quatre leaned back on the seat as he tried to get a hold of his wayward feelings… He wasn't able to look away from her… Every time their eyes met, he couldn't look away…

"Yes, everything was history and what to look for now is present and future." Morley said as he took glasses out of a compartment and brought out an already opened wine bottle. He poured the contents in just one glass then took a bottle of water and poured its contents into the other two.

Quatre and Yvan looked at each other, at the drink, then at one another once again, and it seemed as if one of the first walls of trepidation between them broke down and they smiled.

The glass of water was offered to both of them and Morley was a bit confused as to why the two other people were grinning.

"Was it a personal goal, Ms. Matfei, that you wish to not drink?" Quatre looked at her from over the rim of his glass.

Yvan smiled wistfully. "A personal goal and because I was raised with knowledge of what wine can do."

Morley nodded, finally getting the gist of the situation. "Oh! Of course! I didn't notice before that before… I mean, I knew it but I didn't put two and two together."

Yvan faced Morley as he talked while Quatre did the same out of respect for his host, though for the life of him- the topic was utterly trivial! Dowager this fighting her husband that… Where was that calculating, military man he saw in Castle Morjho? 

It looked like he disappears when the fairy Yvan is nearby…

{_Heartfire's Note_: Yes, I know. Some of you are probably thinking... new character, and grimacing. I know I cannot please everyone, but hopefully, even with a new character, you still enjoyed the plot. Everyone take care, oh! And Disclaimers on GW, everything about Arche, in so far, is my idea. Thank you all for the reviews! I will try to answer whenver I could ^^ Any questions, my email is open. Good bye!} 


	29. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 5

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Five  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

****

Quatre felt the healthy sunshine that spilled from his window to warm his face… then a hearty song from outside slowly called for him to open his eyes. What could be more peaceful than waking up to this?

He stood up, wiped the sleep out of his eyes, then walked to the window and opened it. "Hey there, little bird… thank you for your song…" One should always be grateful for little things such as these. The bird looked at him quizzically then, as if it understood, nodded. 

"I'll bring you some crumbs later." He wanted to reach out and touch the small creature but he knew that he might scare the poor bird away… Momentarily, he glanced down and then did a double take. 

The view below was stunning. The forest that outlined the vast estate held the colors of gold and green, but what really caught his eyes was the woman, stretching languidly, though methodically, on the stone steps below. 

He propped his chin on his hand and watched as she placed her hands over her head and bent down-

'My… but she's got a wonderfully heart-shaped bottom…' 

The thought came out of nowhere but Quatre couldn't stop himself from entertaining it, and blushing. She does have it… She did other stretching exercises that brought her small shirt up her stomach to give him a glimpse of ivory skin, at the same time, emphasize her breasts without truly knowing it and he… 

He ogled… plainly and simply stared, unable to look away. He watched as she did a few plie and half twirls then the sound of a door that opened and closed shattered the moment. She stopped and turned while Quatre slanted his eyes at the sudden intrusion of the show.

'I should have known… Morley…' The dictator came into view and again, Quatre saw the indifference Yvan had shown him the previous night. Morley was clearly infatuated with her… was it because she was playing hard to get…? Ah well… That wasn't his business.

He turned and gave a sweeping look around his room. He was very tired last night and instantly went to bed, but he had already noted where the various spy cams were hidden in his room. 

'Honestly! Did he expect me not to notice them?' He grabbed his towel and headed for the bathroom. 'I wonder if he has some in Yvan's room too…' Quatre pursed his lips and shook his head. He should not entertain such thoughts!

He reached breakfast just in time. Wearing a fresh blue shirt and cream pants, he was as handsome as they go, and more.

Yvan's eyes slowly traveled over him and she couldn't stop herself from comparing James' constrictive, navy government suit to Quatre's light clothing.

"Now, what could we show our guest today?" Morley cut the omelet on his plate.

"The Proto-Slavic museum of Gharsten is a wonderful place to visit." Yvan suggested while Quatre just let the conversation pass him by, digesting the words, but not truly aware of them.

"Are you busy today?"

Quatre saw Morley's hand hold Yvan's and nearly shook his head. Surprisingly, Yvan didn't take her hand away from him.

"Yes, I am. I have to run to the theatre to practice."

"That is too bad. I have to deal with some last minute issues that was just thrust on me this morning… And I do not trust my incompetent aide with Mister Winner." He turned apologetic eyes to Quatre who just smiled.

"Please, don't worry about me. You both seem busy with your schedule. Just give me a good book from the study and I will be fine."

"Are you quite sure?" The curious caring look James gave him was as fake as his smile.

Quatre quickly nodded. "Yes. Actually, I'm still a bit tired… Jet lag, I suppose… I just might go to bed right after breakfast."

A condescending look flashed over Yvan's face. So… she wasn't wrong… He was like all the other rich young men… Lazy. "You will be missing a wonderful day, Mr. Winner. A person can accomplish a lot of things in one day." She sipped her juice.

'I know...' Quatre nodded. "Yes, they could. But if a person does a less than perfect job because he isn't perfectly fit for it, then what is the use of doing the job?"

"Wonderfully said, Quatre." Morley agreed with a swish of his glass.

Yvan raised her eyebrow. James was actually approving laziness?! "The point of the matter, Mr. Winner, is that it could be a productive day."

Quatre couldn't help but retaliate. "The point of the matter, Ms. Matfei, is health."

James watched as the two stared at each other, neither seemed willing to back down from their position. He needs Quatre's support- financially. With a boom in the industry, he would be able to gain hold of more money. Yet, with his Vanyah getting Quatre angry… "Vanyah, my love," 

Yvan faced James after he touched her hand.

"Why don't you go and get yourself ready?"

Her anger raised a notch. Oh she knew exactly what he meant! He wants her to leave and accept defeat by default! Money… that's all he cares about- and if this man was from abroad, a guest of the government, then he was a wealthy man… A man wealthy enough to catch James Morley's attention so he could suck him dry… Disgusting. Her back stiffened. "Excuse me, gentlemen. I seemed to have lost my appetite."

The two men watched as she pushed back her chair and… glided to the door. James smiled apologetically at Quatre. "Women."

Quatre, invigorated by the small chat with Ms. Matfei, only hid a smile. "Yes, of course… Women."

****

…

He was given complete permission to browse through the study. Surprisingly enough, he didn't find a single spy cam in the room- not only that, but there was a computer…

He knew that checking his files would be unproductive… But he still hoped – ah well… James wasn't stupid. Of course, he still would have to use that computer… it might even be linked to something else…

Quatre took out a small device from his pocket. The silver mechanism was smaller than his fingernail, then he gingerly placed it on the table. Without making a noise, he took apart the central programming unit and, after studying the wirings, strategically placed the device inside.

A knock from outside the study interrupted him and he quickly dropped the covering back in place. Telling himself that he'd screw it later. He ran back to the chair and grabbed the nearest book. "Who is it?"

"Sir, a telephone call from Mr. Morley."

Quatre sat up. "Come on in, I was only reading." He crossed his fingers at the lie while one of the servants came in with a phone on a tray. He waited until it was deposited on the table next to him before he picked it up. "Yes, James? Is there any trouble?"

"I'm going to have to stay longer at this meeting, Quatre. Would it be too much trouble if you accompany one of my drivers to fetch Vanyah?"

Quatre frowned as he wondered what Morley was doing at that moment. "No, it isn't any trouble… I'll take care of her."

"Thank you. Excuse me for not being such a good host."

Quatre grimaced. "No, you are, James. You are." You gave me enough time to check where all the hidden cameras were without you around…

They hung up and he walked to his room while he absently whistled a tune. The camera in his room- thankfully, there were none in his bathroom- was very well hidden… Too bad it wasn't hidden well enough. 

By the time he walked out of the bathroom, he was dressed, newly shaved, and his hair was combed in place.

"Time to pick up Cinderella… as Duo would say in this situation…"

****

… 

Arche Performing Arts Center

He watched her from the sidelines, basking under one of the many covers of shadowed walls to hide his presence. He could tell that everyone in the theatre loved her… and she loved them. When a chorus girl fell down, she was the first beside the injured person to quickly administer care. When she sat down, a drink would be instantly offered… and now, she was teaching a little girl how to do the basics of ballet. When they finished, the little girl hugged her hard, and so did she… 

Quatre's eyes squinted through the dim lighting of the theatre as he saw her hand something to the little girl.

"Tell your papa to take care. Buy him some hot bread and _lofa_ for his back tonight, all right, Rayah?"

'What an intriguing woman this Yvannyah Matfei is…' The little girl only hugged her once again-

Someone poked him from behind, a hard, meaningful jab. 

"Whoever you are, I am armed so don't bother to run away. We don't like stragglers in our theatre."

The voice was menacingly low. 

"Walk towards the light, boy. Lets get a better look at you."

What else could he do _but_ follow the command.

"Anah! We saw him spying on you!"

Quatre nearly cringed in embarrassment… All right, so he was, in a way, spying on her… but the way this burly man- or at least he thinks he's burly- pronounced it held a different meaning! 

He waited for Yvan to face him and to frown at him while he gave her a little embarrassed smile. "Er… Hello…"

"Mr. Winner…! What are you doing here?" She jumped down the stage with grace and walked to him.

"You know this man, Anah?" He poked Quatre once again.

Yvan held up a stopping hand. "Clauz, stop. He's James's guest."

The whatever-it-was-that-was-poking-him disappeared and he gave a gracious smile towards her while he gave a thankful smile towards 'Anah's' bodyguard- a very burly, heavily bearded man. "Thank you."

Yvan shook her head, distaste for him so evident in her eyes. "There is nothing to thank me for. If James ever finds out that you were hurt, I don't know what might happen."

"I didn't know that I was that important to him." Quatre innocently commented as he rubbed the sore spot where he had been poked. His eyes followed Yvan as she put on her boots.

"You are the very first visitor to be willingly accepted by the government. That, in itself, means you are important."

She spoke so recklessly… as if… Quatre frowned. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course." Yvan gave him an irritated look. "You are Mr. Winner, honored guest of James Morley."

"You don't get outside news in Arche, do you, Ms. Matfei?" 

She tied her ballet shoes together and faced him. "No, we do not, Mr. Winner. Only James is privileged to have that power."

"Oh, I see…" And he does… He's in a country where no one knew of his status and level… only that he was the honorary guest of the dictator. Was this a blessing in disguise? Why is it that he knew he was in the middle of a dangerous country, but he felt… better and the knowledge that nobody knew him was making him giddy? How ironic that he actually feels… free…!

"So, Mr. Winner. Why are you here?" Her question, phrased in that irritating, haughty tone, jarred Quatre.

"If you truly want to know, James asked me to bring you home." He offered his arm to her, slightly bowing at the same time.

"He never did trust his servants… I wonder why he trusts you, a stranger in this land…" She placed her hand on his arm and felt the hard muscles under her palm… hidden under that soft cotton fabric…

'So… she's fully aware of her position to James…' Quatre glanced at her. Her walk was proud, almost like a princess… "Why do you sound so disdainful?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Yvan feigned innocence as she looked ahead. This man was trouble. She could feel it in her bones… Whenever he looks at her, she could feel something different… a fluttering in her stomach and she couldn't seem to look away… The episode that morning during breakfast… What was she thinking! If she gets James mad, she'll be out of the house! Then what?

Quatre stopped then turned her around. Why he would like to know… blame it on curiosity. Blame it on trying to figure her out. His eyes searched her lavender ones… She met his gaze at first then… looked away.

"You do not like him but you still put up with him…" Quatre whispered, his observation stated plainly and clearly.

Yvan didn't answer… She couldn't… He was merely stating the truth. "Mr. Winner… What about you?" Intelligent eyes tilted and met his gaze once again. "You seemed irritated by Morley… I am sure that you are aware that Morley wants something out of you… and yet… you still choose to stay here and let him swindle you out of whatever it is he wants. Whether it be your brain for ideas or money for finance. So… tell me, what about you?"

Quatre's eyebrow shot up… She had hit him right on the mark. How was she able to do that? "You are knowledgeable, for a ballet dancer."

"I am not a stupid woman, Mr. Winner. I have eyes, and I have ears… I was born and raised in this country and you were not. If I seem knowledgeable… is there anything wrong with being so?"

The light in his eyes made her want to touch them… They were only an arm's length away from each other… a dim lamp to guide their path… What's wrong with her? The moment she laid eyes on him, something happened… but what?! She couldn't look away…

"No… nothing is wrong with that…" His voice went a notch lower while the hands on her shoulder squeezed her lightly. He knew he was flirting, something he never did, yet around her… "It is actually… intriguing…"

Yvan's eyes widened and her bowlike lips dropped open. Did he just… give her a compliment?

Quatre grinned at the cute expression on her face. "Don't look so shocked, Ms. Matfei. Is there something wrong with a man who finds an intelligent woman fascinating?" My God! What is wrong with him? His tongue was running away! Stop… stop… stop!

"N-no… there isn't… I mean…" A tentative smile touched her lips. "It is a rare treat to find a man who does."

"Why, thank you, Ms. Matfei… That was the first nice thing you've said to me." Quatre wanted to shut his mouth- sew it close! Anything!

The tentative smile on Yvan's lips turned seductively wide. Whether she knew it or not, Ah, Allah, help him! 

"Mr. Winner, what an ego… Did I say that you were such a man?"

"No. I just decided that you were talking about me, that's all." What was it that Rashid usually blames when something goes asunder? Ah… Witchcraft! There is witchcraft around here… Fairy dust… Maybe that's why James was so infatuated with her… She's looking lovelier by the minute and her lips… more inviting…

Yvan breathed in deeply… She's drowning in his eyes… Oh, to flirt with him was heaven but… She shouldn't… She couldn't… She mustn't… Collecting her scattered wits, she looked away and decided to set him straight. There may be something between them, something that could erupt if kindled, like a fire… Her mother had told her all about it… but she will resist it! Resist and stop it right here, right now. "Mr. Winner… Do you know why I put up with James?"

The sudden change of topic surprised him out of that soft place he found himself only a few moments ago. "No. Why?"

Yvan looked up and stared right into his eyes to show him her cold sincerity. "I want him, Mr. Winner… I want him more than anything in the world and nobody is going to stop me."

Her answer stunned him but he could feel her determination… he could feel that she's telling the truth… He could feel her passion and the strength of want… She's a woman on a mission to get her man… Yet, at the same time… she was hiding something… She was one tough… exciting woman. That much he could give her.

Quatre let her go but continued to meet her gaze. "Then you know the reason why I put up with Morley myself, Ms. Matfei…"

Confusion enveloped her clear lavender eyes. A strand of red hair fell down on her face then swayed with the wind. 'What do you mean?' The question repeated itself in her head… He doesn't know anything… Not a single thing…

"We should get back. It is getting late." Quatre turned and offered her his arm once again. The mood was broken, and he should be happy but he wasn't.

She tentatively placed her hand over his arm and, once again, felt his hard muscles under her palm that sent shivers from the tips of her fingers, up her arm… 'My God…! What is happening to me?'


	30. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 6

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Six  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

****

"What the hell do you mean?!" 

The harsh scream tore through the peaceful castle and nearly made Quatre drop the bun of bread he had smuggled out of the kitchen- of course, with the cook's knowledge… after all, he's been taking bread from the kitchen ever since that one morning when he saw that bird.

"I don't care!!! Find them!!!"

Quatre's frown deepened as he neared the source of the screaming frenzy. 'Trouble in paradise…' Sad and badly as it seemed, he could feel glee dance around his heart at this person's demise. Truth be told, the weeks he had spent in this little house had shown him how ruthless Morley could be… Servants who got themselves in his way when he's raging mad would be helplessly beaten… food that wasn't cooked to his liking would be blamed on the chef and kitchen staff who would get punished instantly… so many- not to mention that his 'assigned servant' had been filling him other details.

"Sir, calm down."

'Ah… the right hand man…' Quatre bent down act as though he was just innocently tying his shoes. Morley was quite free to release his anger because Yvan was not around- she's off practicing once again. So… he wasn't required to play the good guy.

His anger sparked a little as he remembered that conniving woman… Oh he had seen enough to give him reasons as to why she wants Morley- power and fame… not to mention, wealth. Almost every week, he had seen Morley shower her with expensive furs, jewels, and everything else that could make a woman swoon- or so his sisters often told him. And she never batted an eyelash, silently accepted the gifts, her face as if forever plastered in one excruciating unexpressive look.

'What do you care, Winner…' He stood up then patted his slacks, trying every trick in the book to look like an innocent bystander who could not hear what was happening inside Morley's office. 'It's not as if you want someone like her, right? I mean… you've seen, been, and shooed girls like her…'

"How could a dozen people get past a whole base and line of fire?!"

A banging sound accompanied that furious yell and Quatre silently congratulated whomever it was that had gotten past what Morley had bragged- 'the best militia system'.

"Do you think it's the rebels who escaped a few years ago? Maybe they're-."

"I don't care who they are! I'm not going to sit idle in here and let them wreck my plans!"

The sound of nearing footsteps bid Quatre to hide behind a large, emerald vase. His palms became sweaty as he watched the two leave the study.

He wasn't discovered… Good! 

With Morley out of the way- and his right hand- it'll be easier to nose around… With a heart lighter than it had been the previous weeks, Quatre walked back to his room… Finally, he's going to get somewhere!

****

…

The aide nervously twisted his hands together, already fearful of Morley's anger, he tried his best to appear cool and confident. "Sir, if you are going to the North Base… what about Mr. Winner and Ms. Matfei?"

Morley placed a hand on his temple as he tried to think of a plan. "I will just have to ask both of them to try to get along better and look after each other. My Vanyah will do whatever will please me and Quatre is an honor-bound man who will not allow his host to be disappointed in him."

"Er… but sir… Aren't you… gambling a chance? Ms. Matfei is a beautiful woman… Mr. Winner is a man…" He needn't finish his sentence but his voice still quivered as Morley turned and glared at him… then, to his surprise, Morley started to laugh.

"I feel quite safe leaving my Vanyah with Mr. Winner, Yorel." He turned away from the insignificant fool. "I have done my homework about Mr. Winner… Let me see… He's never seen in public with anyone but his sisters. He's always with his personal bodyguard- a man- who would never be seen without him, and he never dated more than once or twice. What conclusion does that leave you with?"

The way he phrased the sentence… Yorel frowned. "You mean… he's…"

Morley nodded, an amused smile on his lips. "Yes. He is. What man of power does not go around and pluck waiting flowers from a meadow? Ah… poor Mr. Winner is, sadly, not a man. He is the weakest of all the Gundam pilots and the one who has the most public life." He shook his head. "I will feel quite safe leaving my Vanyah with him."

Yorel nodded, though rather hesitantly. "Yes sir. As you wish."

****

…

"You want me to look after a… a spoiled man?!" 

For the first time in his life, Morley saw complete distaste in Yvan's eyes. Good… he doesn't have to worry about her. "Just until I come back, my darling."

Yvan's hands balled into tight fists… She shouldn't get mad… she had put up with him all these years… she shouldn't be mad… a few more months and she would have everything she needed from him… Then look who would be sucked dry… 'Oh Daddy… the things I do…' Yvan turned away and nodded slowly. "Fine, James… I will look after him… I will try to be a good hostess."

"Good. You know Arche as well as I do. He will have a wonderful tour guide." His eyes followed the curve of her back, that arch of her ivory neck and he couldn't help the excitement that ran through him… She was a woman that men could only dream of… No one gets close- but he was determined to break her and make her his… Two years and they never made any physical contact except when she lets him hold her hand, or on his shoulder because he was her escort- or to stop his lips from kissing her… He loves a chase. He'll win… sooner or later, he will win… but right now, he must restrain himself.

A knock resounded in the room and James knew exactly who it was. "Quatre, come on in."

Yvan bit her lower lip and slowly turned around, her eyes met his as it had done so all these agonizing weeks that they've been living under the same roof… The tiny fluttering in her stomach amassed into a tumbling avalanche… Oh… she doesn't want to be stuck with a man whose eyes could make a woman forget who and where she was… but… she just sealed her fate a little while ago… Not to mention that he had probably categorized her as a gold digger… She supposed that it was her fault, especially since she wanted him to stay away… Now, whenever he looks at her, she could feel an invisible wall between them. Not that she cares…

Oh no! She's been doing her research about this man from whatever little bits and pieces she could get around the estate. His name was linked with a string of other women. A gigolo… a playboy… someone who played around with women's feelings, and no wonder…! With his boyish, innocent air… what woman wouldn't feel something tug at her-

"Vanyah?"

Yvan blinked and looked at James. "I'm sorry… I think I'm more tired than I thought I was… What was it you said, James?" She saw his smile and it made her shiver… He was one calculative, intelligent man… He knew when to bid his time… that was why she must end this soon…

"I'm sorry, dearest. You are tired. I just said that Quatre has agreed."

"Yes, of course. He doesn't have any choice, after all." The last sentence was said under her breath while Morley poured drinks in a glass so he didn't hear, but Quatre did.

He raised an eyebrow towards her direction and Yvan saw pity and odium directed towards her… Not that she didn't play a part in it. She had done her best to cut him in his sentences, argue with him, and so many more. Of course, most of the time, they just end up staring at each other in frustration because no one would give up the argument. But… this was what she wanted. No one would take Morley away from her. She needs him…

Quatre walked towards her- darn but her trapezoid shaped lavender eyes were so intriguing… "You're right… I didn't have a choice… so let's just make do of the situation, Ms. Matfei." He said it as softly as he could and saw her shrug.

"James…? When are you leaving?"

A slight exhilaration coursed through James at her inquiry. Yvan saw and almost felt sad that she was just playing with him but… All is fair… in love and war…

"Tonight, Vanyah. My flight is tonight."

"Oh…" She faked a yawn that Quatre saw right through. "I'm sorry, but I really am tired… You take care of yourself, alright, James?" She sent a calculated seductive look to his way. 'I don't want anything happening to you just yet.'

Quatre looked away.

James nearly dropped his glass. "O-of course… Good night, Vanyah." 

Yvan nodded then slowly sauntered out of the room.

"Now that is a woman…" Morley sat down on the chair and stared at the door.

'Poor man…' Quatre shook his head as pity filled his heart for the man in front of him. No man should be subjected to something like this… His train of thoughts fled him as he reminded himself that this man was a killer. 

He had learned a lot from his servant Pietro while he talked haltingly, nearly fearfully, about the other side of Arche- the one that was full of misery, disease, and over worked, over exhausted poor people. Pietro had called it a bad sovkhoz, it was a good thing he was able to find an old dictionary from the study to look up its meaning. Then there was also Pietro's talk about people just suddenly disappearing… No evidence was ever linked to James, of course, but… one could always just imagine…

Morley offered him a glass of iced water and, as they have done so almost every day since he had been there, they shared a toast. The man was leaving tonight, that is what he is grateful of.

****

…

The strong sea breeze fluttered their clothing against their skin… strands of hair went this way and that while water lapped against their bare feet.

__

"Where would you like to go?"

"It's up to you. You know this country more than I… I trust your judgment."

"Are you sure you want to trust a charlatan?"

"I did not say that you were…"

"Your eyes, however, said differently, Mr. Winner…"

Yvan raised her hands to her side as she faced where the wind came from. She had wanted to go to the beach, and, having been assigned to show Quatre the wonders of Arche, it gave her a good excuse.

Unconsciously, Quatre turned to look at her. She seemed less winded up… as if being out of Castle Morjho had stripped her of the disdainful air. 'I wonder how long her hair is…' He had been wondering ever since he saw her… but every day, her hair would always be in a bun- as a ballerina would have it.

As if Fate heard his musings, Yvan's hands went up to her hair and unpinned it. The strong wind quickly blew it back and Quatre was once again, mesmerized… It looked like red silk, fluttering against the wind… having it in a bun so long had created the soft waves here and there through her silken strands and her hair was so long! If there were no wind… it would probably have reached her waist…

Sensing his stare, Yvan turned and Quatre saw a very different girl from the one he'd seen before. Uncertainty showed in her lavender eyes and the wind had turned her usually pale cheeks to a glowing pink, while her luscious bowlike lips had turned red.

"I hope you don't mind. You've probably been to many other beaches before." She motioned to the ever-expanding scene of water, thinking that Quatre must be looking at her for some conversation, at least, as to why she took him here.

Quatre shook his head. "No… I don't mind… Nature always makes it so that each beach has a distinctive quality…"

She turned to face the sea and Quatre saw her figure wrapped by the clothes, pressed against her skin while strands of hair playfully touched her side viewed face. 

"That's good, that you appreciate nature, I mean… So few does…" Having Morley out of the way… A small smile passed on her lips. It feels wonderful to be away from that cursed castle. She even forgot that she was angry at Mr. Winner. "I like going to the beach… it reminds me that this place was once part of the great, vast land of Soviet…"

"Yes…" He was probably gaping at her… and his hands itched to hold her. Instead, he pushed them inside his trouser pockets and tried to focus on something else—an intelligent conversation. Yes. Of course! "Funny how the lands on this world could be put together like a jigsaw puzzle and made whole… Some naturally made… others the byproduct of human mistakes…"

"Even so, if people could only see that these lands were once a part of each other… then it is a basis of unity…" She had never talked like this to anyone before… Why was she doing so with him? Was she trying to impress him? 

Quatre grinned. Her logic made sense. Complete and happy utter sense, and not only that but, she had spoken of one of the things he had been working so hard to achieve- unity. "You're right." 

She smiled happily after she heard him agree… She stared at the vast blue ocean and felt the strength of the small waves collide against her skin. It was so open… "Glassnot…"

"Excuse me?" The whisper reached him, but the word was unfamiliar to him.

"Oh… nothing… it's just the Russian word for openness… I was just wishing that people are more…" 

Her sentence trailed and she seemed to be in a mental struggle with something, but Quatre didn't push her. She was talking to him like a normal human being… that was enough for him.

Yvan quickly shrugged then glanced at him. "My father used to say things like that. The idea didn't exactly come from my own piece of mind. "

"Yet you still think it so…" He breathed in deeply… His next question might be too inquisitive but he would like to know more about her… It seemed as if Morley's absence had created a relaxed air around the castle, and with the two of them. "Ms. Matfei, are you an only child? Would you mind… telling me more about yourself?"

Yvan looked up at the gray, cloudy skies. She didn't really mind the questions-

"If you don't wish to answer, then you don't have to." Quatre quickly added.

She shook her head. How funny of him… It was a rare indeed to find a person on this land to be as sensitive to other people's feelings, as Quatre Winner is. "No, it is alright. I'm an only child, Mr. Winner… My mother's at home… my father… He's been dead for over two years. I'm sure he's in heaven."

"You loved your father, didn't you?" He saw a woman of strength as she brought her shoulders back and chin higher when she answered. But he already knew that she was strong.

"Yes." Does she need to elaborate?

"So did I." Quatre turned to face the sea and saw the waves churn and grow larger.

Yvan quickly turned to look at Quatre. He wasn't looking at her but… She could almost see sadness in those expressive eyes… She never knew… Of course, she never asked. But… She had… she supposed she had always thought that he had the perfect life… that… he was unfeeling… Oh, but the three words he just uttered had so much emotion that-

Quatre turned to her as felt her gaze on him. Their eyes met yet once again, and it seemed as if they had laid down their differences right then and there… Just with that one glance…

"I think it might be time to go back." She didn't want to end the day yet, but she needs to… She needs to. Without her usual vigor, she turned away and started back to the car.

Quatre followed after her. When he saw how she loved her father and missed him… does he not feel the same for his own father?

All too much…

Ah death… an event in life that could tear people apart… or bring them together…


	31. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 7

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Three: Remnants of Reality**

**Chapter  Seven** **By Heartfire** ~*~ 

He woke up to the sounds of creaking iron. Always the light sleeper, Quatre stood then walked to the window instantly… This was the fifth consecutive night that his sleep was disturbed by it.  Whatever _it _was. Right now, he's going to find out.

Quatre plastered his back against the wall then slightly leaned towards the window after he made sure that his face was hidden beneath the shadows.

A figure in black slinked into the night with a small lantern that illuminated the fluttering coat. The person stood in stark contrast against the darkness of the night. Quatre's eyes slanted in suspicion until the harsh wind lapped at the cloth and blew away the hood… A flowing mane of red hair erupted from underneath, just as moonlight seeped through dark clouds as if only to shine upon the strands…

'Yvan…?!' Quatre's eyes widened. 'What are you…' He didn't let himself finish as she apprehensively looked left, right, and then ran to the direction of the forest.

Curiosity and the want to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt made Quatre follow her. He didn't even bother to change. He just grabbed the nearest coat and slipped on shoes while he hopped on one foot and then the other down the stairs to lace them.

The moon was covered by dark thick clouds overhead… Sounds of crashing thunder after a snake of lightning sparked through the sensitized air and Quatre could only wonder-

'What is she doing out here? A storm is brewing and she decides to go for a midnight walk…' He opened the gate and hurriedly walked out then sprinted towards the direction he saw her last without bothering to close the gate. All right, so he was a little angry because his continuous search had turned up with nothing… no weaponries, no Une's cousin… 

He ran as fast as he could though he was not sure where he was going… though he could not truly see the path he was traveling on until… a fluttering dim light within a clump of trees on one side caught his attention… 

Quatre slowed to a walk and followed the only light within the darkness… 'Yvan?' He didn't dare talk just in case the person was an enemy. Just in case the person holding the lamp was what Quatre needs to bring Morley down… Going to the widest tree he could find, he made sure he wouldn't be seen then slowly leaned sideways.

It was Yvan… on her knees, caressing a knee-high white stone by the edge of the cliff… If he wasn't such a sensitive person, he would have thought her crazy… insane… but… he was a sensitive person… and he could feel the depth of emotion that was flowing from her.

The screaming wind died down to a low moan.

"Papa… I'm here again…"

'Papa?' Quatre frowned. Could it be that her father's buried… there? If so… maybe he should leave her be… then again… what if someone's around her right now and causes her harm?

"I know you're looking down on me… Guiding me…" A sob escaped Yvan's lips as she released the emotions she hid from the public view.

Quatre saw her hunch over the stone and embrace it. Her shoulders rocked and he had the urge to go to her… he wants to put his arms around her and let her cry over his shoulders instead of that stone but… he didn't move. He couldn't… in a way, this side of Yvan had surprised him and he knew he shouldn't intrude.

Yvan leaned down and kissed the rock, then placed her cheek over it. "I'm doing my best, Papa… But you already know that, don't you…"

Suddenly, a menacing sound came out of nowhere and before Quatre could react, something pounced on his back and he fell down on his face.

"Who's there?!" Yvan quickly stood up as she heard the grunt.

Quatre quickly turned around and brought his hands up. He gripped a furred neck before it had a chance to bite him.

Yvan slanted her eyes, already accustomed to the night, she saw figures fighting just a few feet away from her.

'A dog…! A damn killer dog!' The thought registered in Quatre's mind as his grip nearly slipped because of the dog's jerky motions. Pain registered throughout his body as claws dug into his chest and arms.

She walked to the sound and saw the distinctive blonde hair that shone against her lamplight. Anger sparked in her and almost made her want to leave him but… she couldn't. "Brule! Down boy!" 

Her strict voice instantly stopped the defiant, killer dog. It jumped off Quatre's chest and walked to one tree, now completely placid. 

"Sit!"

The huge black dog sat, tail swishing and wagging, while Quatre tried to catch hold of his breath as he lay on the damp soil. Wearily, Quatre brought his arm over his face and started to wipe the saliva away.

'And to think that I like dogs- correction… used to…' His arm left his face and when he opened his eyes once again, Yvan was glaring down at him. For a moment, he decided he would rather face the dog once again… "Before you start scolding a down man, let me explain." Slowly, he stood up.

Yvan tilted her head while she crossed her arms over her chest, her raging anger showing in her flaring lavender eyes. He'd seen her during her most precious time. No one had ever… No one… until now. "Of course… I am not James Morley… I usually let the offender defend himself before I decide." This had better be good… "I'm all ears…"

Quatre rubbed his temple and then looked up and met her eyes. "I was worried. I saw you leave the estate and I didn't know where you were going… There's also a storm coming… I did the only thing I thought was right."

She glared into his eyes, wanting to see if he was lying… but only saw the hard truth… and… one cannot truly be angry at truth…

Quatre felt her anger slowly subside, her tight shoulders eased, and decided to converse. "Yours?" he motioned to the dog, playing with a twig.

"No. James'."

Quatre nodded. Her tight-lipped answer showed that she's still a bit angry. Ah well… he couldn't lie to her. She'll probably ask him later on anyway. "I saw and… heard you…"

'I know…' Yvan looked away. Embarrassment started to fill her but she mentally forced it to stop. She shouldn't be embarrassed… What's there to be embarrassed about anyway? She shook her head and heaved a sigh, then shrugged. "So you have…"

Quatre watched as she walked back to the stone, sat beside it and then place a loving hand over it. He remained silent, feeling Yvan's need to talk.

"He was the best soldier under all of James' men…" 

Her voice was almost a whisper. She was confessing to a man barely knew but… a person could only bottle up so much before everything explodes inside… and right now, everything was threatening to drown her. She had withheld so much for so long that she yearned to be heard now… to share it with someone…

"So… he wasn't an artist…?" 

Yvan shook her head. "He was…" A slight smile appeared on her lips. "But he was also one of his men… I never told James because…" She paused, trying to figure out how she would phrase her words. "My father was accused of being part of the rebellion…"

Quatre nodded, understanding the situation. "Is that where he's buried?"

Yvan shook her head. "No… I don't know where he's buried… All I know was he hadn't called us for over two weeks… he never did that…" She felt tears prick her eyes as she remembered those painful times. She would listen for his transmission in her radio and wait for the postman for a message… but there was nothing. "I snuck in here… My dad took me to this place once, to paint…" She placed her cheek over the stone once again. "So, this was where I went first… and I saw dried blood…"

Quatre couldn't stop himself anymore and kneeled beside her. With his right hand, he reached for her shoulder. It was the only way he knew to give support. There was nothing for him to say right now…

The feeling she had when she learned it was her father's came back to her once again… "I had it tested… I was hoping it wasn't his… But… it was…" She already had a feeling that it was… and now, she wasn't going to rest until… it's over.

Understanding finally dawned on Quatre. Now he understood… Now, he finally realized the answers to his questions… "You don't want Morley… You want his land…"

Yvan's back straightened, at the same time, she turned around to face him. He's so near the truth! "No! You're wrong! I want Morley! I want him!"

He saw her cold eyes… that calculating look returning, but the sight he just saw a few minutes ago dominated over them… No wonder her ballet performance was so good… she was dancing out her own emotions… letting it all go through her body… and, he received it. "You want his land."

The way he stated it… hinted that he wouldn't budge from what he knew… Fine then… Let him think that way. Yvan looked away… He was half correct anyway… "Yes… fine… are you happy now? You've got me all figured out- I want Morley because of this land… because of my father. Now why don't you just leave me alone."

"I apologize… I can't do that." He couldn't leave her alone like this… Her lavender eyes went back to his face, her skin streaked with tears… 

"And why, pray tell?" 

Her voice had become as cold as the night breeze that fluttered his bangs, but he could sense her hurt. "Because I cannot leave you alone in the state you're in… or just simply alone." He just couldn't.

"I can take care of myself, thank you." She turned her back to him. Men! They're all alike! Just because one looks weak doesn't necessarily mean- she gasped when she felt his hand under her chin, her face slowly being turned to her side.

"I know that you can take care of yourself." He didn't want to end this conversation with any of them feeling irked at each other. No… not after what he just saw… Not when he just figured her out… and liked what he saw.

Her initial anger disappeared as she stared into intent, serious aquamarine eyes… Her pulse started beating faster…

He shouldn't have touched her… damn! He thought it was just a fluke… that he was just invigorated because she questioned him, because she challenged him. But… he could feel for himself that it wasn't so… "Yvan…" He didn't even notice that he used his name for her. The way her lips were parted seemed to call to him… and he didn't want to fight it.

Another gust of breeze rustled the leaves around them and lifted a strand of Yvan's hair.

Before she could ask why- she _saw_ why. Quatre leaned down to her and she almost went cross-eyed as she stared at his closed eyed face. She stiffened… Why she didn't struggle… she doesn't know… Why she didn't slap him silly… God could only answer… Why she damnably closed her eyes and wantonly met his lips… she couldn't… remember…

People had talked of time standing still… She had always thought it possible, but only in fairytales… He had always thought it impossible… but right now… they knew they were wrong…

The moment was fragile.

It was a gentle kiss… The brush of his lips over hers… Her hands moved up to lay flat on his chest as if she would push him away, but instead, she rose to her toes while he drew her in closer… A simple, light kiss and more…  It was dizzying, melting, addicting…

The breeze scurried about them and the couple shivered, but not from the cold… Quatre only wanted to give her one kiss… just one… just to satiate himself and tell himself that he wasn't really attracted to her but… Allah! Her softness against his… He couldn't stop his suddenly independent hands as it moved to cup her bottom and lifted her against him… into him.

Fire exploded in Yvan. It consumed her… She gasped in rapturous pleasure. She couldn't get enough of him and he couldn't get enough of her…

From somewhere nearby, Brule whined. 

Panic raced through her blood and Yvan quickly pulled away. 'Oh God! What have I done!'

Quatre's arm tightened around her as she tried to push away. He could not remember ever having felt this way with a woman… ever. "No… stay…"

"Yes… No! Oh God! No! Quatre, you don't know what you're doing!" And neither did she… She didn't want to go… but she must remind both Quatre and herself… "James!"

Quatre blinked and it was as if a heavy curtain parted in front of him… He shook his head and a word left his mouth. Neither could tell whether it was a curse or a blessing but nobody cared. His arms fell to his sides and they both took a step back.

"Yvan… I'm… Damn! I didn't mean…" What the hell did he do?! He cleared his throat and tried to gather his wits around him. "I didn't plan on that to happen…"

"Fine… It didn't." Yvan tried to catch her breath and pressed a hand against her frenzied heart. Her lips were dried by the wind and she touched it with her tongue… She tasted him… Damn! Oh… she needs to think of James… James… James! 'Yvan think of James!' 

Quatre's hands shook as he combed his hair… He truly didn't plan for it to happen… 

With a cry of frustration, Yvan turned and sprinted away from Quatre, leaving him where he stood.

Quatre forced his feet to stay still… He watched as she disappeared from his view and then sighed as he dropped down on his buttocks. He didn't want to let her go… But he had to… 

Once again, his hands combed through his hair, nearly ripping it apart in anger. He had a taste of her and wanted more… Damn, he wanted more! And damn but he wanted to make love right then and there! 

"Shut up!" His voice was harsh and directed to himself alone. He never experienced this… He never did this. He never! How could he have done this stupid thing? She wants Morley… He wants her… He shouldn't interfere… But what he felt when they kissed… what he had been feeling since he saw her dance that first time… He realized that he couldn't have stopped himself from tasting her, and that he didn't regret kissing her… at all.

"You have one wonderful daughter, Mr. Matfei…" His eyes went to where she disappeared with Brule by her heels. "One wonderful daughter…"

**…**

'Papa… what have I done?!' She slowly closed the door behind her and then leaned against it as she tried to catch her breath. Her hand went up to her lips and touched it… They still trembled… Her whole body was pulsing, expecting…  She has more restraint than this! What had that man done to her?!

Morley was a handsome man but never in her life had she felt anything like this with him. Not his smile, not his touch, not his gaze nor… his kiss… Then again, they've never kissed… but still… Quatre's so different… He seemed different from all the other men she knew and-

"Stop! Stop it Yvan!"

'Yvan…' 

Quatre's beautiful voice rang in her head and she quickly ran to her bed and dropped on top of it and brought a pillow over her head at the same time.

She must stay focused… She must remember her goal… So near… Besides, Quatre is a gigolo… Quatre is a player… Quatre is… one good kisser… 

A frustrated scream escaped her lips, hindered by the cushion of her bed while her turmoil filled mind tried to gain back a sense of balance.


	32. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 8

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Three: Remnants of Reality**

**Chapter Eight** **By Heartfire** ~*~ 

Quatre stopped his pacing then glanced at the closed door… 'What is keeping her?' He checked his watch and saw that it was five past her usual time for breakfast… Quatre frowned. 'Now when did I started timing her?'

A frustrated hand went up to his hair to brush it back, sending his neatly combed hair in a tousle. 'Alright… remember what you decided to do… remember…' He closed his eyes and tried to shut away the images that threatened to overcome his self-control. He'd already decided to act as if nothing had happened… For one, he couldn't afford to have another dilemma on his hands… Trying to find that nuclear warhead data and Une's cousin were enough… He shouldn't let himself get distracted by a woman with a great body and an intelligent mind-

The door opened wide and Quatre's eyes flew open. 

Yvan gulped. She'd been standing outside the door for the past five minutes, trying to figure out how she would act… But right now, every single hindrance she'd thought vanished at the sight of him… His golden hair, lit by the morning sunshine, created a halo around his sweet face that illuminated his eyes… 

She suddenly couldn't breathe and wanted more than ever to be in his arms, just as she had been last night… Now she could understand why she had been so frustrated with him from the very start… It was because she knew she could fall for him and… she just shouldn't… She has a lot at stake… too much… But when she had a taste of him last night… God help her but she wanted more… She truthfully wanted more…

"Good morning." Quatre didn't know how he was able to talk and walk to the table while she looked at him like that, and he could feel that she was thinking about the previous night. "I hope you had a good sleep."

"F-fine… Just fine… thank you…" Yvan averted her eyes quickly. She shouldn't let anyone know what she's thinking… She could do it… She'd done it before… it's easy. "What about you?"

"I had a beautiful dream and a wonderful sleep. Thank you for asking." Liar! Liar! Liar! Quatre pulled the chair in front of him and motioned for Yvan. She complied.

'Oh? So you were able to sleep, eh!?' Anger suddenly enveloped her… To think that he was able to sleep after what happened…! What kind of an inhumane person was he?! She'd been tossing and turning all night long, unable to sleep! 

"I was hoping that Brule gave you nightmares." She hadn't noticed that she had muttered it loud enough for Quatre to hear and her eyes widened when she heard her own voice. No! She didn't want to bring the subject up!

Quatre's eyebrows shot up at her words. For a moment, he decided not to reply, but his mischievous side seemed to have been turned lose and… well… "Oh, I did dream of Brule… then I dreamt that I was kissed by a Fairy Queen who sat beside a large white stone…"

Yvan paled while it seemed every fiber in her body was aware of him.

Quatre bent down to Yvan's hair and breathed in her strawberry scent shampoo… He couldn't stop as he leaned in some more and whispered just beside her ear. "It was a delicious kiss, too… I wish I could do it again…"

She shivered when his breath hit her skin… Why did it suddenly become so hot? She's burning! His tone of voice… his body so near…  'I am in so much trouble…'

He could feel her inner turmoil, heightened by his own sensitivity towards her. And although he liked talking like this, finally without the barriers of propriety that he was so used to, he was never the kind of man who pushed people around. "Then again… maybe it would be better not to, and just relive that one kiss over and over again." Quatre stepped back from Yvan's chair then walked around the table to his own chair.

He tried so hard not to look at her, but he could feel her gaze on him…  Yvan could have sworn her jaw fell from what he said, but when her hands touched her lips, it was closed. Truth be told… cat got her tongue.

"So, where are you going to take me this time?" Quatre focused his eyes on his food. He cut. He pierced. He chewed…

'Oh…' She almost forgot! If she follows her plan it would be-

"If my memory serves me right, we are supposed to go horseback riding through the Alderian forest."

She could have kicked herself on her buttocks… She forgot that he has a mind for remembering things- she could distinctly remember him telling James where he last saw James put down his glasses… Darn! "Yes… we're supposed to."

"What's in the Alderian forest?" He snatched a look up at her and saw her frowning at her food.

Should she change plans? But if she does… it'll show weakness and not only that, but James will ask her why she didn't take Quatre to that place… For some reason or the other, James found out that she loves that place… Oh! Of course, she's being stupid… He's got spies all over the place. "You'll find out once we're there." She couldn't believe she didn't just tell him no… Oh well, better to get it over with as soon as possible…

**…**

"C'mon Periwinkle. Tsk. Tsk." Yvan brought her heels to her horse's sides for a trot.

Quatre reacted instinctively. "Dew, come on boy…" He shook his head as he said the name once again. His irritation at their stilted air was creating a toll on him that he just wanted to… to… complain! "Honestly! Whose idea was it to name these horses those names?! Why couldn't it have been Thunder, Lightning, Pegasus, or Bronco." 

The angry mutter reached Yvan's ears, along with the horses' hooves' thumping sounds. Yvan felt her blood boil and turned around slightly to give Quatre a look he ignored. 

"I named them. Do you have any problem with that? If you do, no one is stopping you from walking."

An embarrassed smile came over Quatre's face as that little fact was unraveled. Once again, he questioned where his manners went, and felt guilty. "I am sorry… it's not that I don't like horses, I love horses, in fact… it's just that those names are too… fairy-ishy."

Yvan felt a blush start to creep over her face. "And what is wrong if they are a bit fairy-ishy?" She knew that it was that way. She purposely did that because the place they're going to was… well… fairy-ish. 

"Nothing…" Quatre bit his tongue to keep himself from digging a deeper grave. He let it run again and look what happened…! Why was it that he kept on stumbling when he's around her? He was never that callous.

Yvan saw a familiar sign carved out of a large tree and a wonderful feeling surged through her… They have arrived… Her anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by excitement, anticipation and more.

Quatre frowned as he felt a different emotion from Yvan. "Where are we?"

"The Alderian Forest…" 

Even her voice sounded strange, as if with a hint of… suppressed excitement. Quatre shook his head. Maybe he was overworking himself… 

"Stop now."

Quatre's horse started, and so did he, when the abrupt command rang out. His frown came down lower than ever upon his face as he stared at Yvan's back. "What is it?"

"Your history lesson, Mr. Winner." Yvan climbed down the steps. No matter how often, no matter what time… this place always makes her feel welcome, secure and so… not herself. It's got the hint of the Old World in it- oh so strong…

Quatre followed what she did and tied his horse. He had found most of the places they've visited to be of some historical value, and Yvan was most knowledgeable with even the smallest detail. "Yes, Ms. Matfei? What is my new history lesson?"

"This place was once part of the Carpathian Mountains." She motioned to the land with only a couple of mountains. Quatre nodded as he looked around then stopped when his eyes met the mouth of a cave… It felt as if… something in there was calling for him…

"Kiev had always been a part of Old Russia, but after the chain nuclear explosions from the underground secret base of the new SR government, and later on, continuous, and substantial seismic activity from the by-product of the man made hole to the earth's core, large lands were jarred and pulled apart, and therefore, seven new countries were born." 

Quatre nodded, loving the way her face had taken an excited look, especially when she talks of things she's so fond of…

"That was almost a century ago. Arche had become a hermit country, not accepting foreign help, people or any of such. Nearly fifty years ago, this place was found after another seismic activity and since then, both researchers and historians have been interested in it… But, when James Morley came to power, he stopped research activities in this place for reasons unknown, though some said that it was because he wanted this land for himself." Yvan stopped then and watched the expression on Quatre's face.

"That was all very interesting." Quatre tilted his head inquiringly, though his mind was running a mile a minute. It could be that the nuclear warheads were inside. "Tell me, what had gotten the researchers and historians excited about this place?"

"Proto-Slavonic writing. A lost part of Old Russia's history, millions and millions of years ago… the time of fairy tales, witches, gods and goddesses… The Old Language of magic…"

Slowly, Quatre's right eyebrow rose… She expects him to believe that? Granted that he could feel how old this place was but… fairytales being true? He had faced enough reality, and his father's death to make him see…

The excited look on Yvan's face fell as she saw his disbelieving look and she quickly turned away from Quatre to move the shrubs away from the mouth of the cave. She's not going to let him spoil her day… No… Never! But why couldn't he accept such a beautiful part of history!? "Come inside and I will show you."

Quatre followed her and wasn't surprised when she brought out a flashlight. She pointed to the walls and he saw chiseled writings… bright ink coloring and seemingly beautifully preserved herbs and flowers, which he had never, in his entire life, seen! And having a biologist for a sister, well… he's quite knowledgeable on plants.

"According to the last researchers who came into this place, this cave could have once been the place of…" Yvan turned to face Quatre, her eyes full of excitement that he almost, almost felt himself believing, hanging on her every word. "A woman more commonly known as Sleeping Beauty."

The disbelief on Quatre's face now turned tenfold. "What are you talking about? Sleeping Beauty of Russian folklore…" Quatre frowned as he stopped himself. "Was she?"

The pure look on Yvan's face showed him that she was. "Most fairytales were based on Russian Folklore. But since Russian fairytales were too gruesome, some princesses' dies, or the prince dies, or both dies, well, other countries made it more appealing to children. You see, fairytales are supposed to teach people a lesson in life… Death is a part of that. By re-telling a story in a different way, altering the plot, then you also alter the lesson and it isn't as straight to the point as the first version."

"That's the thing. It's just a fairy tale. It isn't true. Don't tell me you believe them." 

Yvan's eyes turned to slits. The tone Quatre used hinted that she was crazy, insane… stupid. "I can assure you that I know the difference between reality and fantasy, Mr. Winner. But didn't it occur to you that maybe these fairytales really did happen but was just duly enhanced by people's tongues? Maybe Baba Yaga was just a simple woman who was jealous of the Princess and really had no powers but the knowledge of plants. Maybe the Princess and Prince Ivan were truly just simple people with no titles but… oh forget it. What do you know…" Yvan gave up and turned away from him. Not even the magic she had once felt in this place could make her feelings turn back to normal. Why she was even trying to change Quatre's outlook? Why did she want him to see this place?

Quatre frowned. He didn't mean to laugh at her… He once believed in fairytales, yet after he saw too much of the real world that he quickly grew out of it… besides, 'How could two people just fall in love after an initial meeting? That isn't at all possible! And there had never been dragon bones found, nor was any dinosaur found to breathe fire.'

"Let's go back to the horses. I can see that whatever is in here will not be of any interest to you." Yvan passed Quatre and started walking back to the entrance. He didn't have to laugh at her… She was just sharing a piece of history- wasn't it that those researchers and historians were the ones who had said that? Wasn't it that the Egyptians had much history once thought to be a myth but was really true?

The ice-cold tone nearly froze Quatre and he knew that he'd hurt her, without knowing… How could he be so stupid with feelings? He never was before! "Yvan wait." His hand quickly reached for her arm to stop her.

"What is it?" Yvan stopped and didn't turn to face him. 

Quatre cringed at her tone and scolded himself. "I want to apologize. I didn't mean to sound like a critic to history. You must know, it's a proven fact that humans have a tendency to feel disbelief and spring their defensive walls when they encounter new data. It's just a natural tendency."

"Your point, Mr. Winner?" She still didn't face him… 

Quatre felt the need to shuffle his feet with the sand, the way he used to do when he was a child, but he didn't. "My point is, Ms. Matfei, I would like to see your Sleeping Beauty history… Make a believer out of someone, if you wish." His last sentence was said in the most joking manner he could do, and he hoped that when she turned back to him, she would be smiling…

She wasn't smiling, but her light lavender eyes did show him her happiness. She was proud of their history. And it was exciting to think that one fairy tale actually did happen! She was a bit hurt when he started laughing at her face through his tone of voice, but now… he sounded sincere about wanting to learn… It's going to be hard to get back her original excitement for the place, but she will try.  "Fine… But I want you to promise not to- as the Americans used to say- 'butt in' when I am speaking."

The innocent 'who… me?' look that Quatre gave her nearly made her laugh but she quickly turned away from him before her face could betray her. 

And so, the couple began their way deep into the cave while Yvan showed more writings upon the wall, preserved potteries, herbs, and many more.

"The people who could write then are our story tellers today. It is sad that half of this Proto-Slavonic language is unknown to our historians, but what little they did know, they were able to understand that there was someone worshipped in this cave. Someone deeply loved by the people and who was put to sleep by magic. The number of offerings, clay wares and plants, were enough to prove their point." She saw him open his mouth and quickly sent him a withering glare. Quatre quickly shut his mouth.

"I know what you are thinking and as I've said before, people then were quick to believe witchcraft or magic. That is already proven in many historical data… Look at Chinese history, Egyptians, or Aztecs…" She saw how he nodded and shrugged, seeming to accept her argument.

Yvan looked ahead and smiled widely as she saw that last turn… They're here… Her initial excitement finally came back to her, nearly making her want to skip to that place. And Quatre? Quatre could feel her bubbling excitement.

"What's in that last corner?" He couldn't stop himself from asking… Her mood change was making him curious.

"The center of the mountains, according to the historians who found this place. They didn't finished opening all of the tunnels inside. James stopped them before they could, but with measurements and old satellite photographs, they were able to conclude that it is the center…"

The way her words faded made him look up and he saw, through that single beam of flashlight that she held, a massive room… the back of his hair started standing on its edge and he had this distinctive feeling that they've entered a special place… Maybe there was a sleeping beauty once…

"Stay here while I light some of the lamps. Oh! And Quatre, close your eyes!" 

In her excitement, she forgot to use his last name, and the way her sweet, out of breath voice said it… Who could resist? With a smile, Quatre did as requested. For each lamp she lighted, he could see orange and yellow sparks becoming brighter against his lids.

"You can open them now."

He opened them and saw what could easily excite anyone… a vast room full of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that adorned the whole place… It seemed like a place remote of Arche… a special… fantasy place. Blue, purple, green and yellow colors danced here and there, and in the center of it all, a large flower of- if he knew his stones well- Quartz… A combination of milky, rose, and citrine, even amethyst quartz…

He couldn't speak, and he could be quite sure that Yvan knew that.

"Beautiful, isn't it…?" 

He could only nod, too enraptured by nature's magnificence.

"This place had been beautifully preserved through all earthquakes, nuclear explosions and other natural disasters that you could not think of any reason for its existence but magic…"

Quatre nodded. He finally got a hold of his feet and he started walking forward, forward to the large crystalline rose in the middle of the room… Is the center of that rose flat? Was that where she was laid? "Maybe this wasn't Sleeping Beauty's… Maybe this was Snow White's…"

Yvan smiled. She could tell that he knew this was a special place. "Maybe they were the same person… they were both Princesses with Princes' and a witch who hates them- Quatre, careful."

She was quickly by his side, a hand on his arm to stop him. 

"You're about to step on freezing water right there…"

Quatre looked down and he almost slapped himself for not seeing it…

"Don't worry- I did that once too… I wanted to go to the middle so badly that I didn't even notice that there was water…"

"Funny… it's not clear… it actually has the smell of the ocean…" Quatre bent down and dipped his hand into it, then instantly took it out. It was freezing!

"Well… it is ocean water… or salty water… The historians were quite baffled by it too… they supposed that when Arche was separated by its Motherland, ocean water seeped up this hole. Why that center hasn't fallen onto the ocean floor and why Arche hasn't drowned like Atlantis is still a question in the air."

Excitement bubbled in Quatre… He's as excited as a little boy in a candy store, darn it! It's fascinating… He wants to… He wants to… "Yvan, let's jump to the other side."

Yvan faced him with large eyes. "What? Are you crazy? I can't jump that far…"

"It's only five… six feet away… we could do it. Besides, it's just water… we have blankets and extra clothes on Periwinkle and Dew."

She herself would like to see the middle… and that twinkle in his eyes… How could she resist? A bright smile appeared on her lips and she nodded. "Okay… let's do it…"

He met her smile. "Good." Quatre offered her his hand and, without hesitation, she placed her own hand in it and they held each other. "Let's go…"

They walked farther away from the crevice, looked at each other, tightened their holding hands and then faced their destination. 

"Ready…" Quatre breathed in deeply. He could feel her cold right hand in his left… could feel her pounding heartbeat through her thumb… "Go!"

They ran and just as they reached the brink, in perfect coordination, they jumped. She had closed her eyes but he kept his open and saw that they were going to-

Her feet touched hard ground and she buckled down to her knees. They let go of each other as their hands went in front to stop their fall. On their hands and knees, they faced each other with wide grins. 

"We made it." Yvan whispered excitedly and Quatre nodded.

"I knew we could."

They stood up and noticed that the floating center was larger than they thought. There was about a space of three feet away from the crystalline rose and, almost instinctively, they reached for each other's hands before they moved on.

They reached it and the smiles on their faces couldn't get any wider.

"I knew it was flat in the middle."

"Me too… I always imagined it to be flat…" Yvan agreed as she touched one of the crystal petals.

"It's beautiful… I wonder how they did it with crude tools… evenly cut and beautifully polished …" He turned and saw her lay a hand upon a yellow quartz. "That's called a citrine quartz."

"It's a nice hue of yellow." 

Quatre nodded. "This must definitely where she had lain… whether she was Sleeping Beauty or Snow White."

Yvan grinned. "I thought you don't believe in fantasies."

Quatre shook his head with a smile. "That's because you don't know me well enough… Sometimes…"

Yvan saw a serious look come to his face.

"Sometimes people need fantasies to get them through life… If you don't, then you just missed a beautiful part of life…"

Yvan saw the man underneath… a man who had experienced a painful past… maybe even more painful than what she had been through and she couldn't help but squeeze his hand, just to bring him back to the man he was a couple of minutes ago… What did she know about his past? Not much.

Quatre shook his head once again, almost as if trying to get back his bearings then looked at her, an idea seeping in his mind. "How about if you try to lie down on it."

Yvan frowned, not really understanding what he said. "Lie down on…" then she figured it out and quickly looked at the flat center. Oh she's tempted enough but… "No… I shouldn't…"

"Come on… I'll be the only one who will see it and I won't tell… I know you want to do it… No one's around to stop us…"

Yvan bit her lower lip as she contemplated… "No one… uhm…" Then she threw caution to the wind and faced him with a huge smile. "Why not? You won't tell, right?"

Quatre motioned as if zippering his lips and Yvan laughed. 

"Fine. I'll do it…" They walked around the crystal, trying to find how to get through and finally decided to just step here and there through small open places in between crystals. Some of them were as tall as Quatre, and others were so tiny… They reached the middle and Yvan looked at Quatre for confirmation. He gave her a smile and a nudge. The width of the table- or bed, or whatever you wish to call it, was about three feet of crystalline.  He saw her take a deep breath and then sat on the two feet high bed and lay down with a beautiful silly smile on her face.

"Well… it looked hard and it is hard…"

"That's good for your spine." Quatre joked as he looked down on her, hands over her stomach, entwined together… her red flowing hair, loose from its daily bun, was almost like fire against the milky quartz, and her creamy white skin, competed against it. That slight tilt on her lips, either from excitement, amusement or something else, made her look so much like a fairy on the verge of mischief… all she needed were wings.

"Hey… you aren't closing your eyes." Quatre said in a playful scolding tone of voice.

Yvan grinned like a child. "I'm closing it… I'm closing it…" Hasn't it been one of her fantasies to be like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White? Waiting for their prince to save her from the spell and find true love within her arms… 

A sigh escaped her lips, her face now relaxed and she looked so much like a sleeping Princess - even in her shirt and jeans. Now, Quatre knew what made those Princes' hearts melt and do anything for their Princesses… He kneeled on one knee and bent to her face… and finally… met her lips in a soft, meaningful kiss…

Yvan's eyes opened wide and she stared into his face and for a moment, she thought about pulling away, but… as before, her arms went around his shoulders and she kissed him back, opening her lips for him.

When they finally ended the kiss, they knew that something had changed… something had happened… He met her eyes, and read the message in them just as she did the same with his… She would like to kiss him again, he would like to touch her again… So many things…

But there was something that was holding them back- or at least, one of them… Yvan closed her eyes to cut off their gaze. 'Oh this is bad…' 

Quatre frowned. The moment was there, still… but she was fighting it… Couldn't she feel it…? They were the ones meant to be… He knew it… He could feel it and he's usually not wrong with these things… "Yvan…?"

"Quatre, you're a louse." It was said in a whisper as she sat up and turned away from him, emotions churning in her. She was just given a sight of her future… with Quatre… but that wasn't possible… "Why did I have to meet you? Everything was perfect then I just had to meet you…"

He wasn't sure whether she was complimenting him or not… He couldn't stand her being like this… He reached out to touch her but she quickly stepped back and he only touched air.

"And to think that you're doing this to me when you already have a harem back where you came from!"

"A harem?" The incredulity in his voice made her turn to him. "What harem?"

"You have 29 women with your last name! That harem!" She rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten them all because of me. I will not believe you."

Quatre's right eyebrow rose at that knowledge and then, without anything else to do, he started laughing… His sisters will have a ball with this one! He would have continued laughing but he felt the need to explain. "Yvan, I do not have a harem. I do not have a wife. I do not even have a girlfriend! But I do have 29 wonderful sisters…" 

"You expect me to believe that?" The question was coupled with a look given to him over her shoulder. How could a man have so many sisters?

"Yes." He sat on the bed and took her hand. When she fought his pull, he didn't give up and she finally let him guide her back to the crystal bed. He scooted near her while he took out his wallet. "This is my family after I met all of them." He took out a folded photograph and then, placing his hands in front of Yvan, opened them to reveal a ruler long picture.

Yvan looked at the picture curiously and saw Quatre right in the middle of the first row, with fourteen kids around him, and two rows of girls behind him and then about fifteen men at the last row.

"Half of them are married. Two of them don't have any children yet, the other fourteen, over my right side are the single ones and those are all my nieces and nephews. Aren't they beautiful?"

Yvan blinked. "You… you have a large family, Quatre Winner."

Quatre shrugged. "Yes… But we just started getting to know each other only recently… Our father separated us… he died during the war…"

"I'm sorry… I wonder how it feels like to be a part of such a family…" 

The wistful note in her voice was his undoing. "Would you like to be a part of my family?" She stood up from him, almost instantly, and gave him such an incredulous stare that it made Quatre want to turn back time and take back those words. Besides, that was too near to proposing…

Yvan couldn't believe he just said that… and she couldn't believe her reaction- lightheaded and joy… Oh God but she must bring herself back down to reality! Think of James! "I can't… James…"

"What about James?" Quatre stood beside her and reached for her hands, entwining them into his… He's made a fool of himself already. There was no turning back for him… 

"I… James and I…"

"Do you love him?" He needs to get that down first… He doesn't think that she does, and when she looked away, she confirmed it. His heart sang, and he knew he was caught… caught in something he doesn't want to be free of.

She couldn't answer that one without lying…

"Did you promise yourself to him?"

She felt her head shake even when she didn't want to answer.

"Then, what's wrong with trying… us?" He turned her around quickly and kissed her before she could protest. It was hard and demanding, not at all like his other two kisses. 

Yvan wanted to let go and hold him, but she didn't. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him away. It was such a hard thing for her to do… but she had to… for her sake and… everyone elses'.  "You don't understand, Quatre… My destiny doesn't coincide with yours."

Quatre felt his anger pushed. "Because you won't let it."

"Because I can't let it… I shouldn't… You wouldn't understand…" Yvan's hands went to her face in shame.

"If you just tell me, I probably would."

"You're not listening…" Yvan stomped her feet. How could she explain?

"I'm trying but you're not saying anything!" Quatre's eyes took on a look of anger and pain… Why does she force James in a picture where he's not needed? "Maybe I'm wrong about you… Maybe all you really want is power and fortune…"

She had to push him back and he just gave her a way out… "Maybe it is."

The hurt in Quatre's eyes slashed through her like a knife but she met his gaze until he finally turned away from her. "Go back to Morley's castle, Yvan.  I'm staying here a bit more."

But… "You might get lost-"

"Is that concern for my care that I hear from you?" 

His sarcastic tone nearly made her want to apologize but she didn't…  Pride? What was her true reason? Until everything was over, she could truly have no happiness… could she?

Yvan turned away and stepped through the crystals, when she got out of that forest of quartz, she walked to the center, breathed in deeply then ran as fast as she could, putting her frustration in her sprint.

Quatre turned, not being able to look away. He wanted to be sure that she landed on the other side safely… She did, as he knew she would… He watched as she grabbed a lamp instead of her flashlight and then walked out of that place without a single look back at him… Then he was alone. He sat on the bed once again and let that feeling of loss and pain engulf him…

He didn't see how her steps faltered halfway down the tunnel… Didn't hear the sobs that escaped her lips when she reached the mouth of the cave… never saw how she hugged Periwinkle's neck and cried before she jumped on the saddle and finally ran away from a happiness she knew she had just wrecked…

{_Author's Note:_ Disclaimers on many things in this story- two in particular are 1.) Quatre- because he doesn't belong to me- and then 2.) the Russian hint of fantasy and writing. I took the some ideas and the words: Sleeping Beauty, Prince Ivan, Baba Yaga and the Proto-Slavonic language from a beautiful novel titled _Enchantment_ by Orson Card. But the others, such as the cave's history, the crystalline cave itself, and so forth, are mine. I hope you enjoyed these chapters. Remember, the Gundam boys are men now, the setting is 10 years in the future.}


	33. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 9

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Nine  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

_{Heartfire's Note to everyone: I just wanted to say this before you start to read- thank you for your kind notes. If I have not responded to personally thank you, it is only due to a whirlwind of a schedule that I found myself having to succumb to, without any control of. But I want you to know my gratitude. For those who read my stories, even if you do not write, I'm glad you are still reading and hope you are still enjoying. Take care everyone.}_

It seemed as though nature was in tuned with their feelings, or maybe just _his_ feelings… He looked out and saw, for the seventh day, how dark the clouds were, how rain splattered against his windows… how the trees swayed with the wind and nearly touched the ground…

"Sir…"

Quatre turned around and schooled a smile on his face. "Yes, Pietro?" His assigned servant, in his early forties, entered the room. For a man in his prime, he was the epitome of the suffering mass in Arche- wrinkles, graying hair, and that haunted look in his eyes.

"Your dinner…" Pietro walked to the table by the window and placed the tray on it.

"Thank you very much." Quatre opened the tray and saw the food, but he didn't feel hungry, even after he caught a whiff of the delicious aroma and saw how delectable the food looked. 

Pietro saw the look on his face and frowned. He liked serving for this guest… He was warm, friendly, and funny… yet these last few days, Quatre had been gloomy… and so had a certain other favorite guest of his… "Did you and Ms. Matfei had a fight in your last trip, sir?" He asked, especially since Quatre had told him to always speak his mind… At first, it was hard to do, but later on, he learned. 

Quatre didn't hide anything as he nodded. "Yes, we did…" He tried so very hard to remain calm, but the mere thought of her brought his feelings akimbo. He could not balance the anger he felt and his face took on a hard look. "She doesn't care about anything but money and power… She and Morley are just right for each other." This was the first time in so many years that he didn't care what he said, and he felt good about it. Besides, he already programmed those darn cameras to pause anyway, and Pietro helped him do it.

"Oh… I suppose that is why she never wore the furs and jewelries Mr. Morley gives her… and I suppose that is why she had also not been eating her food…"

Quatre's head snapped to look at Pietro and he saw the intelligent look in the man's eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about…"

Pietro shook his head. "I do, Mr. Winner… You told me to speak my mind to you, and I am speaking. I do not think that Ms. Matfei is a woman for Mr. Morley. She is too pure for that."

Quatre grimaced. "You tell that to her… see if she listens."

Peitro sighed. "Well, there is no turning your mind, that I can see… Eat well, Mr. Winner and please try to talk to Ms. Matfei. I do not like seeing two of my favorite guests in such unhappy moods."

Quatre watched as Pietro left, what with older man's words still ringing in his ears… So… she hadn't been eating either… Was she as unhappy as he? He walked to his bed and lay down on it then brought his hands behind his head to think. He had not seen her since seven days ago… She would leave for the theatre early in the morning and come back home late at night. And him? He was boring himself to death as he sat in his room and read, or look as if reading while he tried to figure out the damn computer files he'd finally accessed.

There were only rare moments in his life when he had felt this kind of confusion… this unexplainable toll upon his mind that blocks his once clear understanding. Why could he not understand her? Why could he not understand himself anymore? He could remember what he had told her, all his actions… he could not believe he had done such things.

A hand went up to his face to massage it then he glanced at his wristwatch… A frown appeared on his face- it's half past ten already?! But just a while ago it was only six!

Quatre quickly stood up then walked to his window to glance at the uninviting environment that appealed to him right at that instant. It seemed as though earth and air were in a battle. He watched as the storm increased its intensity, forcing the thick stonewalls of the castle to surrender. The ground seemingly shook as jagged bolts of lightning hit the ground. Thunder roared its battle cry, making the air around him shudder. 

It was a dangerous storm… the most dangerous he had ever seen… but he made up his mind. He was still in his jeans and shirt, so all he needed was his parka, or a raincoat, or one of his waterproof jackets. He chose the jacket and his deep forest green raincoat. He took time to place a believable hump on his bed and then walked out of his room, quickly reprogramming the camera.

The door outside opened and closed. A growling shadow nipped at his heels but Quatre only gave a withering glare at the dog. "Shut up, Brule. I'm not in the mood." The ground he plodded on was soft and pliant with heaven's tears and he lifted his face to brazenly meet nature's tempest.

The wind howled against his ears and his cheeks felt whip lashed by its coldness. It was cold. It was painful… and he accepted it. Closing his jacket and hunching over, he started to walk around the castle… and then… found himself standing under an unlit window…

****

…

__

He touched her face gently and then slowly went down her neck to the valley of her breasts…

Yvan turned on her bed for the millionth time that night.

__

He smiled down at her and her hands went up to his neck for an embrace…

Her hand went over her heart and rubbed her chest while another hand went under her head, grabbed her hair, and brought it away from her perspiring neck.

__

They kissed… he pressed against her and she to him while the strap of her dress fell down from her shoulder…

Yvan woke and instantly sat up on her bed, breathing deeply… sheets were tangled around her legs and her was hair matted to her body. Oh… such lust filled thoughts… She never had those before… 

Her hands went to her temple and massaged it… Why does she keep on having those dreams? Dreams of him… yet, tonight was the first time she dreamt of them on the verge of… Yvan felt the heated blush on her cheeks. For the past days, her dreams only consisted of walking along the ocean shores with him while they held hands… or running through the forest with him on her trail, happily playing hide and seek… Innocent, heart-warming images that she instantly tried to forget once she had woken up… but tonight… it was desire…

A desire she must forget. Quatre does not know what he will happen if he but gets his name linked to hers… Could he not see that she was heavily guarded by Morley's spies? That, if there was anything suspicious, it would be reported and they would both perish? She does not want that to happen… Not to him, nor to her…

She sighed. Her room was too stuffy… too warm. She walked to her window to open it but she quickly stopped. Lightning had struck that moment she reached her sill and she saw a figure just below… She moved to her curtains to hide herself while she tried to separate that figure from the darkness of the night… There was no mistaking it.

"Quatre…" The whisper left her lips in a breathless manner. He stood like a valiant sentry, willing to face any dangers that would come his way. What was he doing below? Why was he outside? 

Foolish… and yet… she could not help herself as a hand reached out to her window… as though by touching it, she could reach him, but at that moment, he turned around and walked away. She let herself move closer to the window then, and had the sudden urge to open it and shout his name for him to stop… Stop for God knows why she wanted him to! Instead, she pressed her forehead against the cold glass and just looked at him.

He walked out of the castle gates, closed it behind him before Brule could escape, and continued his walk.

"Look out!" She gasped when she saw a large branch, carried by the strong wind, nearly crash against him but he quickly avoided it.

The hand on the glass turned to a loose fist and she quickly bit her lower lip. 'What are you doing in that storm, you stupid, stupid man?!' Reaching a decision, she quickly ran out of the room with only her thick, practical cotton nightgown to shield her body against the onslaught of the storm.

****

…

All he could hear was wind, thunder, and rain… That was all he needed to hear… It echoed what he could feel deep in his heart… He had been in Arche for nearly three months… He had only known her for that long… How was it possible that he had fallen for her so quickly? And… so blindly… 

He closed his eyes and arms opened wide to his sides as if to embrace nature herself. He accepts it. Quatre Winner was in love… Damn but it's such a detestable feeling to know that the object of your affection doesn't even want to have anything to do with you… Now he truly knew how Relena feels and he wished with all his might that Heero would return to her.

"Quatre! Have you lost all that is sane in your head?!"

The voice he never expected to hear rang clear against the elemental noise and he quickly turned around. Her waist long hair was matted against her creamy complexion, and her sodden gown was being whipped against her small frame… She was dripping wet and she didn't even have slippers on!

Anger coursed through him. Anger that even in such a deplorable manner, she still looked beautiful to him- and she was going to get sick. "Look who's talking! You didn't even grab a damn raincoat!"

She went out here because she was worried about him and what did he do? He yelled at her! It didn't even occur to her that she was also yelling at him… that they do need to yell at each other so they could hear each other. "I'm a native to this land- you are not. Do you not know how dangerous storms could be?! Get back inside!" 

"What do you care?" Why was he being such a brat? 

Lightning blazed through the dark stormy sky, illuminating each other for a brief period of time… too quick to be able to see the pain being pushed away by anger. Thunder followed in pursuit, heading a warning for all who would dare stop his quest, yet the message was lost to the two souls who fought a battle of their own upon the soft ground.

Fire blazed in Yvan's eyes. "I went out here because I was worried about you and this is what I get?!"

"Why the hell are you worried about me anyway!" He snapped back. It felt good to be angry, to yell and shout expletives… to show it. It had been so long since he had let such an emotion run wild… but he also wants it to stop. Stop because it hurts… 

Yvan opened her lips to answer back but, not knowing the answer, she closed it… Her anger subsided as confusion raced through her once again… "Because I'm worried about you…"

He saw her lips move, but she said it in only a whisper and he was not like Heero Yuy who could read lips… "What?"

Yvan sighed… She must face this for her own peace of mind… Her father told her to always face her troubles and solve it before it could destroy her and this was one trouble that, she was quite sure, could destroy her… "Quatre… we have to talk…"

"I can't hear you." He didn't move, his stubborn streak out in the open. 

Yvan understood… In their last conversation, she was the one who was stubborn… it was his turn now… So, she walked to him instead and stopped only a step away. "We have to talk."

Quatre jerked a nod, crossing his arms over his chest. "We sure as hell do."

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you."

It wasn't a question, just an observation, but Quatre answered all the same as he shook his head.

Yvan sighed. "That's all right… I understand…" She looked down at her feet and saw her muddy they were… Ah well… she can not do anything about it now… after she tells him the things that had been running around her head, muddy feet wouldn't seem so embarrassing at all.

He saw her indecision and suddenly felt foolish… He wasn't like this at all… He truly was not acting like himself! He opened his mouth to speak, but she already started.

"I do not know what's happening between us… But… there is something that's going on and… I've been trying to fight it but… I…" 

Helpless eyes stared up at him then looked away while her confusion and pain clouded his heart. He could feel her inner battle, reflecting so much of his own…

"I can't… I'm losing. I know I am." 

He felt his anger slowly subside, understanding... 

"Quatre… I truly don't know what's happening." She looked up and met eyes as turbulent as the weather around them. "This is all new to me…"

He saw that she was telling him the truth, and his rage completely disappear, replaced by hope. "And you think it isn't for me?" Quatre asked, his voice low.

Yvan shrugged as she looked down at the wet grass once again. "I do not know. I do not know you and you do not know me…"

"Then… how about if…" He reached out and touched her hands… She didn't move away and he held on. "How about if we get to know each other and… figure this out ourselves…?" He was kidding himself right now… He was kind of lying to her because… he already figured out exactly what it was… but… it would be better to take this on one step at a time…

She shook her head though she would very much like to have said 'yes'. Could he not see? Yvan pulled her hands away from his touch and locked them to her sides in balled fists. She met his eyes and forced them not to waver while she willed for him to realize what he wants to do. "I am Yvannnyah Matfei. Mistress to our Supreme ruler-"

"You are not." Quatre couldn't help the hard, strict tone of his voice, not letting her finish. How could she say that of herself? He had been here, had seen how she acted around Morley, saw those rare moments they touched… all less intimate than the way… they have done. "You are not, Yvan…" His voice became softer as he stepped closer to her. For the first time since he entered Arche, since he saw her, his thoughts were finally clear. The way she held herself right now, the way tears misted her eyes… 

Yvan swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "Please… don't look at me like that…" She could not bear it… 

He knew what she was doing… he knew she was trying to force him away. Quatre smiled softly as he finally closed that distance between them then reached for her ice-cold hands. He felt her pull away and he knew that she was fighting for both of them… but he was also fighting for their sake, in a much different way… How long had he waited for her? How long had he thought that he would spend his nights alone… lonely… pining for a love he thought he would never find? And now, he finally discovered her. He will not let her go. His warm hands encompassed her fists and he leaned down to her ear. "You are not…" 

The whisper made her eyes open and Quatre saw how her lavender eyes swim in tears that slowly spilled and mingled with the rain. He couldn't help the gentle touch he gave her face to wipe her cheek, the he brushed back strands of dark red hair away from her face. 

"Quatre… You do not know what you are getting yourself into." Her eyes showed panic, now… and a plea to be understood. "No one is allowed near me without James' consent… everyone I am with were screened… Those who came close to try and ask me out disappear for weeks…" She looked away. Her eyes caught how his hands held her. Gentle but firm… warmth… "I am constantly watched."

"I know." Quatre whispered. He knew and understood. He would do the same, maybe not so obsessively as Morley was doing. She was trying so hard to make him see the dangers… so thoughtful of her. 

Yvan looked back at him, her eyes wide open in surprise. "You know and yet you still ask?"

Quatre nodded, trying not to show how glad he was the he was finally able to show her how much he feels. "I still want us to get to know each other." Slowly, he felt her fists loosen, and tenderly, he entwined their hands together. 

The charging winds changed direction and slowly became pliant, as though it finally saw the destruction it had laid upon the earth and was apologizing. The hard rain followed, lessening its watery attack.

A small smile enveloped her face as she looked at their locked hands. How wonderful it feels to have him hold her once again… "Yes… I would like that but-"

"I would like that, too…" Quatre whispered, stopping her once again. "That is all we need to know at this moment."

She felt his hand under her chin and willingly, she looked to his face and saw his wonderful smile… that wonderful smile she had missed all these days and she was the one who tiptoed up, encircled her hands around his neck, and pulled him down so quickly that they nearly stumbled down onto the muddy ground, but instead, his hands went around her body and hugged her against him while his lips accepted her gift.

He allowed his lips to part at her gentle nudging, delighted and excited that it was she who finally kissed him. At the moment her moist, warm tongue shyly slipped into his mouth to stroke his, a shock went through him, and he knew she felt it as well. It wasn't desire nor lust but something just as powerful and, at the same time, soft.

His hands moved up over her back. His fingertips dancing along her nape, cherishing each touch of her skin, then burying them in her wet hair. She felt him shudder, echoing her own feelings, and then leisurely, they let go of each other and grinned. 

"You are drenched, Yvan." Quatre whispered, feeling weak from the intensity of that soft kiss and leaning to touch his brow with hers. 

"It doesn't matter. I'm used to this… I'm not from the deserts after all..." Her hands played upon his soft locks, lightly grazing the back of his neck and smiling when she heard his chuckle.

"At least you got that information right about me." He pulled a strand of hair away from her face and then kissed her forehead. "But, even so… the gentleman in me is telling me to give you my raincoat."

"That is up to you…" She missed his closeness the moment he let her go, but she willed her body to just watch as he took off his huge raincoat and then helped her put it on. Then he stepped back and looked at her.

She looked like the very image of the Princess in the Princess and the Pea… the last fairytale he read to Kershja and that made him laugh.

Yvan frowned, but, the cheerfulness, the utter free happiness she could hear and feel from his wonderful laughter only made her laugh along with him. "You should laugh more often. It's nice." 

"Your laugh is nice, too… But Morley's presence doesn't exactly promote laughter…"

"I know…" She grimaced and Quatre laughed some more while he wrapped his arms around her once again.

"We must look really silly right now…" Quatre whispered against his raincoat, just where her ears should be and she embraced him harder. 

The warmth she could feel from his raincoat, his smell and just holding him was making her giddy. "I do not care." She leaned against him, wondering how this had happened… Was it not just a little while ago that she worried about Quatre's safety… Oh! "Quatre…" The thought made her pull away from him and Quatre saw the worried look on her face.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" 

"I must know if you understand that we…" She took in a deep breath. She wants to make sure that this was understood. "Quatre… We must keep this to ourselves… We must be careful… We shouldn't let James know what we're doing…" If he does… everything will be ruined.

Quatre bit his lower lip… Of course. They must hide this wonderful thing. He was never one to hide, until now… and Yvan knew Morley. There's no knowing what could happen once Morley found out about them… Besides, it could prove fatal to his mission… "All right… we'll be very careful…"

"Thank you… I knew you'd understand…" Yvan went back to her previous position, placing her cheek against his chest.

Quatre grimaced. She didn't understand that he has his own purpose for agreeing with her… but… why should he create problems when things were finally looking up?

****

…

It rained one more day since that fateful night, and while inside the castle, they could only look at each other, stay a step away from each other, and crave for each other. It would not do to risk anyone see their hands entwined and it took an effort, but both were only happy that they were together… making idle conversation… touching each other with their eyes.

Afterwards, it seemed as though the sky had never wept while the sun gloriously warmed the wet land and lured flowers out of their buds, birds into the sky, and couples out into the open. The very moment the sun came out, Quatre invited Yvan to go horseback riding and they'd been outside every day since then.

Her dreams somewhat became a reality as they walked along the ocean sands together, hand in hand… As they played hide and seek through the forest… As they picnicked upon the green, wild flower covered meadow, the way they were doing so now…

"Got you!" 

His hands went around her small waist as she ran, and they both ended on the grassy meadow with lips meshed, embracing one another in wonderful ecstasy. 

He shifted his weight, not wanting to crush her to the ground, and lay on his side instead. He anchored his head with one hand, stared at her the way that makes her shiver, and then lazily grabbed a wild flower with another. "Do you know that you look beautiful against these flowers? You almost look like a picture…"

Yvan blushed, as Quatre knew she would. How could he have once called her a cold, calculating woman when well in fact she was the most caring and wonderful person he knew? He'd seen her give charity to children… They even visited some of the slums in Arche because she said she didn't want to disillusion him about her country… There were more poor people than rich… and it seemed as if they all knew her. They actually spent a whole day helping the underprivileged clean and launder, and brought them food with both his and Yvan's money… It was a rewarding day- and the way she looked right now, she's just tempting him to kiss her, and that was exactly what he did.

Yvan placed a stopping hand on his chest before he could touch her and he frowned. Two could play with this flirting game… "Do you know that the color of your eyes rivals that of the sky?"

The frown disappeared in an affectionate grin as Quatre pressed his lips to her hair, just above her temple… It was supposed to be an innocent kiss. They have silently agreed to keep everything simple though he fought something inside him every time they kissed, and knew that she fought one herself. But the way her body was pressed against his with the feel of every luscious curve… he couldn't help as he lowered his lips to her cheekbone… down to the corner of her mouth.

He felt her sigh against his skin before her light kiss touched his jaw, felt her lips open in invitation and he moved. Tenderly, he slanted his firm lips upon her soft ones. It still surprised him that he knew what to do when… he only kissed a handful of women, and most of them were chaste kisses. His lips worked on hers, suckling her upper lip then relishing her lower one, licking them with quick tiny flicks of his tongue, then followed by slow, languorous laps that traced her lips. 

She found her hands linking behind his head, pulling him closer to stop the way he was making her insides crazy, but everything only intensified as her mouth opened wide for him. 

"We… we should stop… The food is… getting… cold…" Yvan whispered as their lips tilted this way and that, wanting to learn more of each other's secrets. "Quatre… if we're not careful…" She didn't want to stop, feeling boneless… but she must remember that he will return to his own country soon, and she will stay here… "One of us will get hurt…" She couldn't add that it would most likely be her.

Quatre stopped kissing her to look at her and give her a promise with his steady, gentle eyes. "Yvan… I will never intentionally hurt you… I don't think I could ever do that…"

She swallowed, believing him yet at the same time… questioning if that was possible. "Neither could I… but James-"

Quatre stopped her words with a finger on her lips. "We promised not to talk about him, remember? Besides, we made sure that no one knows where we are…"

Yvan smiled. "Yes… Yes we did…" They purposely went in zigzags and made sure they left no trail. It was getting harder and harder every day to elude them, those irritating spies, and Morley's monthly visits for a day or two still scare her, but both she and Quatre try their best not to show anything every time the man was around.

Slowly, he eased away from her though every fiber in his body screamed in protest. "Good." He reached out a hand for her, and she took it. In less than a second, they were both sitting on the grass. Then… Quatre remembered something… "Yvan, just this once though… I was wondering…"

"What is it?" She leaned forward to brush away grass blades that clung on his hair, but when he closed his eyes and leaned against her touch, she didn't let go. Her hand traveled from his golden hair, loving its silky texture, to his face, to the side of his neck, and finally settling upon his shoulders.

He almost forgot what he was going to ask. "Lawrence, James's younger brother…" He saw that he didn't have to expound with the way Yvan's eyes showed recollection. "Where is he now?"

"He is suffering in self pity at the House of Dujes. I do not exactly know what happened, but from what I've overheard, someone made a fool of him in front of a lot of people."

Quatre's lips happily tilted up as he remembered his friends. "Yes. Someone did."

"Well, he's as bad as Morley so I'm glad someone trimmed his feathers!" 

The detestation he could hear from Yvan's voice made him laugh. Well, from what he gathered from Hilde and Duo at Hartwater, he could imagine why she would feel indifferent to the younger Morley… "How about I introduce you to the person who humiliated Lawrence, sometime."

The twinkle in her eyes shone brighter than ever. Though she knew that there would be no possible way she could leave the country while Morley ruled, it was nice that he was thinking of a future together. "Would you?" Her hands went down to the collar of his shirt and lightly touched the skin exposed to her eyes. "I would really love to shake hands with that person."

Quatre's eyes darkened. "And I would really love to…" He didn't finish his sentence as he caught her lips. They kissed once again, going to a world only they, and other people in love, could understand.

"I think I have to warn you…" Yvan whispered against his lips.

"With what?"

Her father had always told her to be upfront… and her father had never been wrong except for once, and it probably cost him his life… Should she gamble her own too? She threw caution to the wind and she spoke her mind and heart. "I think… I'm falling in love with you."

Quatre stilled then pulled himself away from her.

Yvan opened her eyes, ready to meet angry eyes, but instead, she saw wonderfully pleased eyes. 

His finger traced the frame of her face. He was bursting with joy inside! And he couldn't' help but smile. "Guess what…"

"What?" Yvan whispered as she felt a fluttering deep in her stomach with the way he was touching her.

"I think I am too…" 

Elation like no other filled her, but she forced her face to show playful worry. "This is bad…" 

"Yes… we are in such a deep rut…" Quatre answered, his face schooled solemnly but his eyes twinkling with delight. His finger finally reached her mouth and started to slowly trace her luscious lower lip.

Yvan trembled. "Kiss me again…" Her hands went to his face and pulled him down on her. 

"Willingly." Her hands raked through his hair while his hands touched hers and the two enjoyed the feel of one another once again, teetering between loosing control and being in control. 

They were so deep in their own world that they didn't notice a flash in the distant trees… a camera snapping away pictures after pictures of them…

****

…

Quatre woke up, barely breathing. He was burning hot one moment, and now a deathly chill went through his body…. 

He quickly shook his head and tried to take away that dreadful feeling while he forced himself to remember his dream.

The haunting echo of a flute slowly enveloped his mind…

'Trowa…?' Quatre's eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped. He clutched his chest, trying to breathe.

No… he was just overreacting… It was all a dream… just a dream… He dropped back on his bed and forced himself to sleep… but he couldn't.

'What's happening back home?' He'd been gone for so long… Nearing half a year… 

"Trowa… please be safe, my friend…" He willed with all his heart. "Please…" He doesn't want to leave yet… because of Yvan… because he hadn't found anything about Une's cousin… because he hadn't found anything relevant to nuclear weaponry…

Guilt made him shiver and without another word, he pushed back his blankets then walked to the abundantly filled bookshelf at the far right corner of his room. He knew he would not be able to sleep again and decided to continue his search. With trained eyes, his hand reached for a thick, hardbound book. It was not as heavy as it looked… then again, looks can be deceiving.

Quatre settled back on the bed, opened the twelve-inch long book, and saw his palm-sized computer. The x-rays wasn't able to detected it… after all, they were just parts inside his briefcase. It took a few days to re-build it, but it was worth it. He hallowed the book himself, knowing that he must hide it away from his personal belongings, just in case someone looks through his things while he was away.

He had gone through a lot of files these past few months- some were inconsequential, while others were quite… interesting. He found that Arche had five satellite frequency disruptors, strategically placed around the country. No wonder the Preventers needed an insider to do the job… 

He wanted to shut those disruptors down, but he noticed that instead of having a linked system, they stood on their own… Quite smart of Morley to do that. It would hinder complete shut down, and it would also be able to track whoever was trying to sabotage it by use of a computer- and he was using such a device. He couldn't risk it.

Another question that surfaced was- how was Une's cousin able to sneak inside Arche if the country had their beaches lined with soldiers? He must have been really good.

Then, a few weeks ago, he found that Morley was hording money… Lots of them… It was a good clue to volley the idea that the Supreme Ruler must be using it to create the weaponries… but after more search, he saw that Morley was sending it out of the country, and he's just about close to cracking what and where… 

A small blue light reflected upon Quatre's face as he turned the computer on. He could feel a surveillance camera turn to his direction but he was quite sure that the cameras would only pick an image of a reading guest.

Wherever Morley was, he's just hoping he would stay there longer… Whatever he's doing sure was keeping him busy… an advantage for him, although Morley's frequent phone calls does make him feel queasy. 

Yet… what of his friends? And why does he feel such a deep sense of loss at the thought of his best friend?

****

...

Sweat poured down his body as he gasped. He could feel pain on his lower right chest, just where he dreamt Relena was shot! He couldn't even breathe… his lungs… and just yesterday… Trowa…

"Quatre? What's wrong?" Yvan quickly went to his side as he tried to gasp in air. He was doubled over his knees as though in deep pain. Earlier, Quatre had looked as if he did not get any sleep… She was worried- he even fell asleep after he ate breakfast today- ate very scarcely… She wanted to cancel their picnic today, but he was quite adamant to go outside the castle.

Quatre shook his head as he tried to get back his bearings. He never had such images so clear before. Were his dreams truly happening? Premonitions? Or were they just… dreams? "Nothing, Yvan… nothing… Just a bad dream…" He tried to look at the beauty of nature that surrounded them, but when he didn't see even a small breeze to pick the dead leaves on the ground… he could only feel… dread.

Yvan sighed. She would rather hear what was bothering him but… well… sometimes nightmares were so bad you never want to hear yourself say it… "Here… let me help…" She positioned herself behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders then pulled his body gently against hers while she leaned against the base of the tree. She guided his head to rest between her breasts then with two fingers on either side of his head, started to massage his temples the way she learned to after her mother started having migraines.

Quatre's tired body slowly relaxed, letting Yvan's hand be his guide. From somewhere, a bird sang and he focused on nature's song around him for his lullaby… Slowly, he went back to sleep with a smile on his face. When she was sure he was fine, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on his hair. "Don't worry… I'm here…" She whispered and then placed her cheek on his hair. Why was she so protective of him? Why was it that when they're together, everything seemed so… right? 

A flood of emotion coursed through her and she openly accepted them under that bright sunlight, with all the glory of nature around them… She had failed herself, but it was a failure she'll learn to live with… It's all right now… everything will be over soon… And with that one problem soon to be eliminated, she could finally… finally live without fear.

"Quatre… I love you so much…" The moment she whispered those words, she knew that they were the truth…. The truth she had been running away from all these days… all these weeks… all these months… And in her heart and mind, she wished with all her might, that he would feel the same way…

"I have to go away, but I will be back soon, Quatre… very soon…" They only have this morning… just this small time, then they must go back to the house so she could leave this afternoon.

****

…

An earsplitting clang echoed inside the small castle as metal hit the floor. 

"The snake…" James tried to calm himself as he stared at the mess he made. Furiously, he slammed the pictures on his table. All these months he'd been on the edge. He could never find a trace of those rebels who had sneaked in! Once, or twice, they did… but the trail soon turned cold… It wasn't right… Something was going to happen and he didn't like it… Then this!

"He will pay… That low born ass." He looked out at the night sky then called in his aide while his messenger cowered on one side. "We're leaving tomorrow!!!"

****

…

Quatre walked her to the car and handed her luggage to the driver. "You really have to go?"

"Yes… My mother is really sick…" Yvan looked away. She didn't want to lie to him… but she must… "I don't want to… but I have to…"

"I understand. Take care of your mother, and relish everyday with her."

His words nearly made her cringe, and she remembered how he talked of his parents and heard the ache in his words. "Some day, you'll meet my mother and I'm sure she wouldn't mind having you as an addition to the family." She said it to comfort him, not even noticing the meaning behind her words until she finished.

Quatre grinned and Yvan saw the message behind it. "I hope she won't."

She laughed. Oh, it's wonderful to be with him…

"Just come back to me soon." Quatre whispered as he took her hands in his, after he made sure that no one would be able to see. It's so hard to let her go even with the knowledge that she's coming back and he stared at her and memorized her image as if she would never again return… as if she was just a dream. 

"A week… I'll be back in a week… at least, I hope…" She whispered while she smiled tremulously. 

"I'll be waiting." Quatre answered and then he chanced it. He brought her hand up and kissed it. She looked so wonderful today, with a ruffly skirt and an off the shoulder shirt, exposing her perfect, creamy skin. He couldn't believe how hard it was to control himself around her.

Yvan bit her lower lip and didn't even look around, not caring if anyone had seen them. "I'll miss you…" Sadly, she took her hand away from him and entered the car even before he could tell her that he would miss her, too. It started the moment she was seated and she instantly turned to look at Quatre until he was out of sight…. Then she finally sat down properly… Why is her heart so sad?

Slowly, she fingered something hard within her pocket… She didn't feel as happy as she had when she first got her hands on it… Now, all she wanted was to be back in Quatre's arms… 

Soon… all of that soon… Hopefully.

****

…

With the camera paused, Quatre typed on his small computer, his attention entirely focused on his work. He felt invigorated… he would like to finish this soon. That way, when Yvan comes back, maybe they wouldn't have to hide… Was it just his wishful thinking or had he seen the look he had been hoping for in her eyes? When she comes back, he'll ask her… 

Quatre frowned. He was just redirected to another file… something he'd never seen before… A logo appeared on his miniature screen… a logo not that of Arche.

'What is this symbol?' He must be in the wrong file… but this was very interesting, not to mention that the words nuclear bombs were mentioned.

'I must send this to Une right now…' Be creative, she said… Nothing more creative than a little undetectable transmitter Rashid had asked his tech research group to create… Maybe he should give the prototype to the Preventers later on… The best way was to use Morley's own transmitters just by hacking through a few codes. They wouldn't be able to track him down...

Sent… 'Finally!'

His eyes snapped to the door when he heard a shout. Something crashed and Quatre instinctively closed his computer, brought it to the bookshelf, and then took another book. He reached his bed, lay down on it and opened the book just as guards came in.

'Guards?' The frown on his face was clear as he stared at the men over the rim of his hardback.

"Quatre Winner, you are hereby arrested by the order of James Morley."

Quatre's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Pietro's slim body pushed through the guards. "No! He hasn't done anything! You can't take him away! You can't kill him!" 

Quatre glanced at Pietro, frantically shouting. He could sense such fear…!

A guard ruthlessly swung his gun to the hysterical man and Quatre heard bones crack… saw how Pietro's head snapped back and blood flew from shocked mouth and splattered against the white lapels of the aggressive guard… then his limp body fell down…

Quatre's eyes turned to slits, his anger kindled to a raging fire. "You didn't have to do that!" In lightning speed, he was out of his bed and the guard fell down. It was a bad move and he knew it… even so, Pietro was his friend…

The next thing he knew, he was surrounded. A punch landed on his cheek, another on his stomach… Quatre gasped in pain and tried to fight back… but a numbing blow on the base of his neck made his surroundings swirl… 


	34. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 10

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Ten  
By Heartfire

**__

~*~

He forced himself not to lose consciousness as he fell down onto his hands and knees… He strained to keep his eyes open, and then slowly, he looked up just in time to see Morley, with condemning eyes, walk inside the room. Two guards grabbed Quatre's arms callously, bringing him to a stand.

"Take him to the dungeons. He had wanted to see them since his first day on Arche… Now he will have the pleasure."

Before he could reply, Quatre felt another inexplicable pain at the back of his head and… this time… he passed out.

He woke up breathing in dust and damp, musty air. The whole room was so cold and he shivered. His hair felt sticky and it was throbbing so painfully… He wants to hold it but when he moved his hands-

'Chained… I should have known…' A moan escaped his cottony mouth instead and he closed his eyes once again as he let his body go limp and hang by its shackles. How long had he been out?

"Good… You're finally awake. I didn't know that you were such a heavy sleeper, Mr. Winner."

Quatre slowly looked up and saw Morley's face through the bars. He quickly straightened his back, to show that he was not afraid. "What is the meaning of this?"

Morley didn't answer as he motioned for the guards to open the iron bars, and then walked inside with another soldier. The soldier looked at Morley and started to talk after the dictator gave a nod.

"Quatre Raberba Winner, you are hereby charged with treason against the Supreme Ruler and the government of Arche. You have stolen information and you are hereby charged and found guilty. Your punishment is the line of fire at sunset 0600 hours, two days hence."

Quatre frowned. "What are you talking about?" They couldn't have known that he was able to take secret information after he accessed their databank! He'd been careful… He knew he had been! "There hadn't been a hearing yet! Why was I charged?!"

He watched as Morley motioned for his men to move outside the cell while he sauntered to Quatre. He smiled, a menacing smile, and in a low whisper, only for Quatre to hear, he answered the question. "She was mine… always will be mine…"

Now he understood. Hate for the man erupted in Quatre and he wanted to just… just… punch the man to unconsciousness.

"She will be mine even if I have to force her… mine to relish… mine to touch…" His eyes glittered dangerously, cruelly. "… and mine to make love to. Do you understand that, Winner?"

"Morley! You lay one hand on her…!" He couldn't move, his chained hands and feet were stopping him but he still struggled to get free.

Morley only laughed at his prisoner's demise. "You can't do anything about it, Quatre… All is fair in love… and war… I'll kiss her for you…" His eyes slanted malevolently before he turned away from the pathetic gundam pilot. 

"Your are going down, Morley! You are going down even if I have to come back and haunt you until you die!!!" The mere picture of Morley kissing Yvan… Damn the man! He watched as Morley walked to the open iron doors. "You come back here! Come back here and fight!"

The answer he received was a smile that sent a chill down his spine and then laughter… The group of men walked away with their lamps, and Quatre could only watch the fading light.

"Morley!! You asshole!! Coward!!!"

He heard the sounds of a heavy door creak open and then shut close. Darkness covered his vision once again and he slumped against the wall.

"Yvan… Yvan hide… Don't come back… Just hide…" Quatre whispered as he knocked his aching head against the wall. "Don't come back… please…"

He didn't know what time or day it was when he heard iron clink against iron once again… Wearily, he looked up and saw two guards, opening his cell. His wrists were sore and rubbed raw from the countless of times he tried to struggle free. If he doesn't die of tetanus from the rust on the chain, well… it'll be the line of fire…

"Hey you! Food! Wake up!"

Quatre glared at the two. "Let me go." His voice was also different, hoarse from continuous shouts.

"And get our heads shot? No thanks." The skinny man answered while the slightly better built soldier walked up to Quatre. 

"Here. Eat."

Quatre opened his mouth to tell them off but before he could speak, a cold, hard bread was suddenly pushed into his mouth, nearly choking him.

"Heh… there's a lot of mice down here, eh Boggo?" 

"Yah, Miko. And rats…" The skinny one replied while he kicked a large rat away.

Quatre's eyes turned to slits. He'd known that fact since he came here… Rats had been moving around his feet, one even climbed up his leg- it's a wonder they hadn't bitten him and made food of him!

"Reminds me of an old English song…" Miko said as he started humming.

"What song?" 

Quatre was finally able to push the whole bread that was stuffed into his mouth. He could hear the rats and mice rejoice from the cold floor, probably tearing the bread to pieces, but he didn't care about that. Hoarse or not, he was about to shout like hell about what he thought of the two when Miko started singing.

"_Hickory dickory duck. The mouse went up the clock… The clock struck six… the mouse went down. Hickory, dickory duck… _I think that's how it goes…"

Quatre frowned as he stared at the guards in disbelief.

"Eh? That din't sound right. Ah well. It's an old song."

"Yah… Let's leave this man with the four legged critters."

Quatre couldn't stop the incredulous look he gave the soldiers before the only shaft of light faded once again… Laughter started to bubble in his throat while squeaking rodents feasted on the floor… The sound that left his lips… so eerily akin to a man on the verge of madness… of insanity…

****

…

Yvan frowned as she instantly noticed extreme security around the palace. Her taxi driver was also showing a state of nerves, mirroring her own. 'I wonder why…' She stepped outside the cab as soon as it stopped and a guard was instantly beside her.

"Ms. Matfei! I… We… We thought you'd be back next week!"

'I couldn't stay away for long…' She nodded instead, wondering about the guilty expression upon the young soldier's face. "My mother recovered quite quickly…"

The soldier turned away from her and faced another one standing on guard by the door. "Corporal! Report to General Morley!"

"Yes sir!"

Her heart stopped when she heard his name. "James is back?"

"Yes ma'am… Two days ago."

Yvan swallowed while her whole body grew cold… She turned and her quick eyes saw- "Why is there a platoon in formal dressage?"

The guard gulped and sweated. "Er…"

****

…

"Sir! General Morley!" The guard ran into the room without knocking. "Ms. Matfei is back!"

James stood up from his seat in surprise. "What? She isn't supposed to be back until next week…" His words died as an idea formed in his head. No… Maybe this is better… it will show her not to play around with him… He quickly walked out of his office, toward the front door where he saw Yvan questioning his guard, and smiled his greeting. "Yvan! My darling… how is your mother?"

Yvan turned to face James with wide eyes and nearly cringed when he hugged her. "I… My mother is fine… James… What is happening?"

"Let me show you…" James offered his arm to Yvan and against her will, she placed her hand on his. "Lieutenant, what time is it?"

"Fifteen till, sir!"

Yvan saw a satisfied smile on James face, one that looked very much like when a cat caught its mouse… A smile that made her want to run. Escape.

"Just enough time… It's so good that you came here just on the right time, my dear." He turned away and gave a command- "Bring out the parade!"

"Parade?" Yvan asked as she was herded east of the castle. Today was not a holiday… what is special about today that would warrant a parade?

"Yes… we planned it specially for you… and we're going to the best seat."

Her hands had grown cold and clammy, even though it was in her mitts. The way Morley was practically dragging her... 'Something's… not right… There's something wrong…' The words kept on repeating over and over her head.

"You know, my dear… no one can escape the eyes of God… Every sin is reported and with that, punishment is sent."

Yvan's eyes whipped back to the man beside her. What was he trying to tell her?

They stopped by a settee with a table and two glasses of wine.

"Wine, Vanyah?" 

Yvan shook her head. "You know that I do not drink wine, James."

"Oh yes… of course… You are missing a joy in life by doing so, my dear… Especially not drinking red wine…" He poured some more into his glass and motioned for his servant to get water for Yvan. 

"Look at this…" James brought the glass in front of Yvan. "It almost looks like blood…" 

Yvan cringed and almost couldn't stop the grimace on her face when James drank the wine even after his comment.

James snapped his finger. "What time is it?"

"Ten till, sir!"

The softly growing sounds of drums reached their ears and James smiled widely. "Ah… here comes the parade…"

Yvan turned to the sound and watched as six men with drums heralded a tone that made her think of death… She heard that melody before… in the theatre… It was what soldiers play when someone was about to be executed during the olden days…! She turned to face Morley with questioning eyes but James only motioned for her to look back at the show. 

Slowly, she turned to face it… There was a slight gap between the six drummers, a line of four soldiers walked just behind and then they turned to their left-

Yvan's eyes widened as her gaze fell on a proudly walking man in once immaculate clothes, now tattered and filthy… She hastily stood from her seat, nearly knocking it down. "Quatre!"

Her gasp brought a smile to Morley's face. He could tell that the damnable man meant a lot to Yvan. All he wanted now was revenge… The small pleasure he had of watching some of his men beat the senses from this man was not enough… He wants blood. "Yes… Quatre…"

She understood everything now… He learned about them, somehow…! She turned to face him, wanting to stop this. "You… you can't! He's... he's known worldwide! He came here as an ambassador for the World Alliance!!! You're prompting the people of the world to bring you down! To hate you!"

Lazily, he looked over his glass. He couldn't care less of that damnable government. They will be groveling at his feet soon enough, but there was only one other person he wants to kneel upon his feet… the woman in front of him. His obsession. "And you, Yvan… Do you hate me?"

Yvan stared at the man who languidly sat under the shade of the wide umbrella. There was not a single care in his bleak, black eyes… She knew then that he would not back down. A shudder went through her when his eyes brightened while his lips turned up. She saw… she saw how much the bastard was enjoying her fear.

A servant had set down a glass of water by her side.

The oppressor… the killer… Titles and curses ran through her mind while her hand reached for her glass. She didn't care any more now and promptly splashed her drink to his face. "I hate you from the depths of my soul, you murderer." She quickly turned away from his despicable face and started to run to the two lines, walking in perfect coordination, while one name left her lips. "Quatre!!!"

"Stop her!" James commanded while he wiped the water from his face and two of his guards instantly grabbed Yvan before she could take more than ten steps away from the settee. They twisted her arms heartlessly, and then pushed her down to kneel on the ground.

Quatre heard her shout and turned. He saw the look of pain flit on her face as the guards twisted her arms- "Yvan!" He turned to run to her. Being chained didn't matter, but a gun instantly struck him on his shoulder and he fell on the ground. Pain shot through his back and he willed himself not to collapse. He was weak from hunger, not having food since that last bread that was forced to him, and his body ached from mind numbing, brutal beatings that he endured during that one long night. Yet the physical pain was not as terrible as the ones that played with his mind, as he imagined what Morley would do to her… No. He will not let it happen. 

Yvan saw him stagger and fall down from the blow, then pulled so carelessly by his hair- "Let me go!! Let me go!!!" She couldn't fight even if she wanted to. Her hands were held in iron grips and she couldn't stand up… every squirm only brought her more pain as the soldiers pushed her arms in near bone breaking angles.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Morley appeared by her side but she didn't care, her eyes were only trained on Quatre as he was herded near the forest edge by the last line of guards and then they left him with one guard. She watched as the guard offered him a blindfold but Quatre shook his head and jutted out his chin proudly, standing straight and tall. He sent a look to Yvan and she received it…

"No…" Yvan shook her head as the last guard left Quatre's side. "No… James… James, stop this…"

She turned to face him but he wasn't looking at her anymore… He had that expectant look in his eyes… a wild glint as he stared at what was unfolding in front of them.

"James! Dammit James! Stop this!"

"READY!!!

Tears flooded her eyes and fell down her cheeks while she looked at the ground then shut her eyes. Her hair was suddenly viciously pulled and pain seared through her.

"Open your eyes, my love… see what happens when you betray me…"

"AIM!!!"

"No… Please… stop them… don't do this…"

"Open them!" 

His voice was harsh and commanding… but it wasn't what made her open her eyes. She wanted to see him before he dies… Slowly, her eyes met his courageous stance and saw what she knew she would see… He was proudly meeting his death…

"FIRE!!!"

"QUATRE!!!" The heart-wrenching scream left her throat while gunshots erupted and echoed around them. Blood appeared on Quatre's clothes as his body jerked… 

Yet, as if a last utterance of rebellion against James, he turned his bloody body from the guards and gave homage to the forest instead…


	35. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 11

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Eleven  
By Heartfire

**

~*~

She couldn't breathe… 

Smoke wrapped the dozen, or so, men who pulled the trigger…

Something slowly died in her as she stared at the body that lay on the ground… probably fighting for life if he wasn't instantly killed… Painful bullets that seared through his flesh… that burned holes… She struggled once again. Tried to get away.

"No…" She shook her head. He couldn't be… "You can't die! Get up!!! Get up, Quatre! I'm here! I came back!" Anguished sobs escaped her lips as she tried to get up. Her arms were pulled back harder, twisted harsher but she didn't care anymore… She couldn't feel them… He was not moving… He was so still… Her whole body had suddenly become like lead and her shoulders sagged as though the weight of the world were upon her… So very tired…

Morley saw the change in her… She lost, and she knew it… "Let her go… she won't escape…"

Her hands were released and she instantly bent over her knees… Her forehead touched the grassy soil while tears flowed down her eyes. "I love you…" She whispered for only the ground to hear. "I love you so much…" The same ground that was drinking his blood right at that moment… that worthless ground that did not even cushioned his fall… This was all her fault. Her doing. If she hadn't… if she only had more control…

"Get the damn body out of here. I don't want the air to stink."

His voice. How he addressed such a wonderful man… how he talked with disregard about Quatre… She suddenly remembered everything she had fought for and… that worming pain in her heart gave her strength. Her head snapped back and she glared at the man who wasn't facing her. Yvan stood, eyes ablaze with wild rage. "MORLEY!" 

He turned and in one fluid movement, her fist struck against his face then her foot slammed against his chest. He fell down, out of breath, on the grass. Morley stared at Yvan, stunned, while blood slowly dripped down his nose… His shock and pain were so clear in his eyes that Yvan felt a slight satisfaction.

She applauds whoever had said that revenge was sweet. Oh so sweet…

Guards instantly surrounded her but she didn't even acknowledge them. "Get out of my way… I'm going to kill him!" Her low words sent a shiver up their spine but nobody moved away.

With a yell, Yvan grabbed the man nearest to her then smashed his face against another. She didn't turn to see what happened to the soldier as she wrenched a shotgun from another and used that to hit him on the shoulder. A howl of pain rushed out of the man as he crumpled on the ground, clutching his arm. Yet, Yvan only had eyes for one sniveling worm.

"My father should have killed you when he had the chance!" 

The gun smashed against another skull then went into someone's stomach while Morley crawled away on the grass… slithering like the snake he that he was.

"But no… he needed more information about your stupid nuclear warheads!"

She kicked someone in the face and, at the same time, broke someone's wrists. Years of training since she was barely five showed in her flowing moves. No one could even land a single blow on her.

"Then you had to kill him… you murderer. You don't even know where he's buried… do you…?" Her voice had taken on an eerily calm tone…

She was going against everything her father had taught her… Control… Oh but what of control?! She didn't care if she dies right now… Her mother was secure… and Quatre's dead. He was the only reason she came back to this demented place… Because of him…

"And now, you murdered another innocent man." She reached him and brought her gun up like an axe, stared at her target then smashed it down.

Wood shattered just inches away from James' manhood and his eyes widened that she had missed- oh but she had been so near!

"Don't think that I missed." The dangerous glint in her eyes-

The whirring sounds of helicopters grabbed her attention and she quickly looked up in the sky. Against the sky blue heavens, she saw four large, black heweys, all with soldiers parachuting down to the ground. Tires squealed from the other side of the castle and she turned her attention to the sounds only to find jeeps and tanks moving in…

A proud, yet sarcastic smile lifted her face. They were quick… just like her father always told her… but not quick enough to stop Quatre's death… "You're going to pay for your crimes, you son of a-"

Her breath was suddenly snuffed out of her as she was tackled to the ground. A hand twisted her arm painfully to her back while another smashed her face to the ground. Before she could react, her other hand was twisted the same way. It was so painful that she couldn't help the scream that was torn from her throat.

Something hard and cold was swiftly pressed against her temple while she struggled to get free and she knew it was a gun. She's going to die… yet instead of feeling fear, she was oddly calm.

"You're going to die, bitch!"

A single deafening blast echoed on the field… and blood spluttered on the ground that made the green grass red… 


	36. Story 3: Remnants of Reality 12

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Three: Remnants of Reality  
Chapter Twelve  
By Heartfire  


**

~*~

A howl of pure anguish roared through the air.

"MORLEY! YOU LET HER GO AND I WON'T KILL YOU!!!"

Yvan's eyes widened. Her jaw dropped as she quickly turned her head towards the voice. She saw Quatre… in tattered, bloody clothes with a gun trained on Morley's head. His eyes were hard, his voice was clear… He meant business.

"NOW!!!"

She looked around and saw everyone surrounded by men in dark green uniforms, some were even around her and Morley. Slowly, her wide eyes riveted back to the ghost that walked to her direction…

The grip on her hands eased and the suffocating weight on her back disappeared. Little by little, Yvan let herself up.

"B-but… You're dead…" The whisper was hallow, full of disbelief.

Yvan couldn't move… Was that truly him? But she saw him… the bullets…

"Don't come near me!!! You're dead!!!" The hysterical screams erupted as Morley stared at the ghost. There was no other explanation for it! He had come to haunt him! 

Quatre's eyes slanted. He would like to put a bullet through Morley's heart. Allah forgive him, his hand was itching to pull the trigger. But the way the man was shaking… the way his eyes were twitching… The man was battling with insanity… It was punishment enough. "Rashid! Get him out of here!"

"With pleasure, Master Quatre." One of the men from the platoon of soldiers who shot him jogged towards Morley and Yvan could only watch as 'Rashid' grabbed James' shot hand, inciting another howl from him.

Though it was satisfying to hear him yell like that, her eyes went back to the man who finally stopped in front of her. Yvan stepped back, confused. Was she seeing things? "I… I don't think… I don't think I understand…"

"Are you all right, Yvan?" Quatre reached for her, just to brush away the mud on her face, or to wipe away that streak of blood that dripped down her nose, but she moved away, fear so evident in her eyes.

She had seen him die… She saw the guns being fired… She saw blood appear… 

"It's all right… I'm not a ghost…" Quatre smiled gently, knowing that he must do this slowly. "I'm alive… it was all a ploy…"

'A ploy…' Her shaking hand reached out to touch his battered face. Blue and black marks covered his cheeks, a wound with dried blood near his left eye, and lips… bruised and violet. Through it all, she felt his heat… The way he turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand when she neared his lips made that cold fist that clutched at her heart melt. He's alive…! With a cry of relief, Yvan embraced him like there was no tomorrow. "I don't care how it happened… I thought you were dead… I saw you fall and…" Sobs overcame her and she couldn't speak anymore… God! How could she explain how… what she had felt!?

"Shhh … Shhhh… Everything is fine now… We're together… There wasn't any time to tell you… We didn't know you would arrive so early, unexpectedly." He heaved a deep sigh. His shoulders still ached, and the way Yvan was clutching on to him added discomfort, but he wouldn't trade her embrace for the world. 

Yvan pressed her face against his bloodied shirt… Oh her smile.

They started talking at once.

"When I saw you fall down, I thought the whole world had died along with you… I wanted to kill James!"

"Damn! I almost murdered Morley when he held that gun to you… I don't know what I would have done to myself if I was a second too late…"

"I love you so much…"

The couple stilled in each other's embrace as they heard those whispered words said at exactly the same time…

Slowly, they drew away, stared at each other then smiled.

"Rashid's jaw dropped when he watched you take down all fifteen men- not that I wasn't surprised… I never knew you could fight like that." Awe laced his words. Everything almost went down the drain when he saw her, but Rashid made him remember. Quatre grimaced as he recalled that blow on his back. He felt guilty as he walked to his plotted doom and he kept his eyes averted from Yvan's face though his heart and soul wished she knew there wasn't anything to worry about. He wasn't supposed to move until Rashid and the others carted him away to the hide out. Then they were going to rescue her. But he couldn't resist a small peek just to make sure that she was fine, hating himself for being unable to spare her from the scene. He had gone still when he saw her fighting them. Shocked. When she got distracted… the gun. He couldn't explain his fear.

"Fifteen? No wonder it was easy…" Yvan grinned as she went back to her original position, her ear on his chest to lovingly listen to his beating heart.

"Where did you learn how to fight?" He knew that she had her secrets, not that this one mattered a lot… He was just curious- as he had always been with everything that concerns her.

"My father…" She opened her eyes and saw the people around them once again… the platoon that 'shot' Quatre, clumped together, were the only ones moving, pointing at them, seemingly excited and with wide silly smiles… "… taught me…" Her voice faded when she saw a chestnut haired woman turn from the corner of the castle and walk onto the field. It seemed as though every man she passed by puffed out his chest some more, or stood straighter than before- if that was even possible!

Gently, Yvan pulled away from Quatre to stare at the woman while Quatre turned to look at what caught Yvan's attention.

Une noticed Quatre looking at her direction and gave a nod. She took in his beaten state and could only mentally sigh in relief that he was alive. The situation was just relayed to her and she mentally wondered why Rascal didn't add Quatre's situation in the report. She finally reached them- "Are you all right? We didn't know that you were in such trouble… Why didn't you notify us?" 

"It was all unexpected, Lady Une." Quatre gave an apologetic look towards Une then motioned to his men. "But without them…"

"Yes. I'm happy the Maguanacs decided to help, though it was against our agreement." An anxious look crossed over Une's face while a curious one came over Quatre's.

"Why did you come?"

"Have you seen Rascal?"

Their questions were asked at the same time while Yvan stared from Quatre to Une… 'They were working together…?' That could only mean… Quatre was working… that he's an ally!

"No, I haven't." Quatre answered first, a bit confused.

Une looked around as if, by doing so, she would catch sight of her cousin. "We came because we received notification from Rascal… He gave us the specific location of the nuclear warheads, and with that, specific measure and composition."

"But… I thought you said that Rascal was dead…" Quatre's eyebrows furrowed together.

Une frowned. "You didn't come to contact with him?"

Yvan cleared her throat. "Excuse me…" For the first time, Quatre heard a meek voice come from Yvan. "I… I'm Rascal…"

"Rascal?" Quatre parroted in a whisper as he incredulously stared at Yvan.

Une's attention turned to the redhaired woman in Quatre's embrace. Rascal? But… Could it be that her cousin had found a family through all the years he had lived here and… this was his daughter?

Yvan cleared her throat once again. "Papa was killed two years ago… I've… I've been doing his job for him."

Une couldn't believe her ears!

"I think he never told you about us… my mother and me… but he had a picture of you with him and showed it to me before…" She looked down, embarrassed by their stares.

Quatre's hold around her waist tightened. There's a lot to ask her but… those could wait until later… Right now, they were both obviously tired.

A hand touched Yvan's shoulder and she looked up at Une's misty brown eyes. "You have your father's eyes…" There was a crack in her voice but she didn't care. She must accept her cousin's fate.

"I know… Mama always tells me." Yvan whispered as she shyly smiled at Une.

"I will give my respects to your mother later… I mean is… is she still alive?" Inwardly, Une cringed at her choice of words. 

"Yes… very. She knew what papa was doing."

"That's good… it's never good to hide something like that from family. You have done a wonderful job." Une whispered as she patted Yvan's shoulder then let go. "I'm sorry that this has to be short…" She stopped and Quatre helped.

"Her name's Yvan."

Une gave a thankful smile at Quatre then turned back to her neice. "Yvan… but I have some things to disclose to Quatre and a lot to straighten with this government."

"That's fine. I can wait." Yvan answered. "Would you like me to go while you two talk?"

Quatre's hand instantly tightened around her waist. He's not about to let her go any time soon. "No… Une, she can stay, right?"

Une nodded. She had a feeling that Quatre wouldn't give her any choice. "It's all right with me if it is fine with you."

"It is." 

Yvan kept her mouth closed and couldn't help but smile at Quatre's answer.

"There had been trouble. Four days ago, Relena was shot. A bullet intended for the President went through her left lung."

Quatre's hands fell down to his side in surprise. His dream…! "How… how is she?"

"She's fine. I just received word this morning about her condition." Concern flittered across Une's brown eyes. "Stable but… she has yet to regain consciousness."

Quatre bit his lower lip in concern. "How's Heero?" 

"Heero's…" Une mentally sighed, remembering that day all too well. "Missing."

By the tone of Une's voice, something happened and she didn't have to say anymore…

"Colonel Une!" A man cried out her name even before he reached her. He snapped in salute then handed her a piece of paper.

Une opened the small slip of paper then paled.

Quatre frowned at her reaction, but dread also started to seep through him. "What is it?"

Une looked up to meet Quatre's eyes then looked away. "Quatre… The day before Relena was shot, Wufei's team sent two bodies to our forensics lab…" Slowly, she handed him the paper. "I'm so sorry…" 

Confused, Quatre took the paper and opened it to read the print… He paled then his hands started to shake. The paper fell from his hands.

"Quatre…?" Yvan whispered as she reached for him and held his hand. She looked down at the paper on the ground and read the message printed across the page.

__

'Genetic code for Trowa Barton, test three: 99.9 % match. Confirmed. Body is Trowa Barton.'

She glanced back at Quatre's pale face, head shaking to show his disbelief, and knew that whoever that person was, he meant a lot to him.

"No… he can't be dead… he can't be…"

She wanted to inquire- 'Trowa?' but the hurt that showed on his face… She felt a push from Une and she didn't need any more prompting as she embraced him.

Trowa… his best friend… He faced Une from Yvan's shoulder while pain and anguish showed so clearly in his eyes. "That report is a lie! He is not dead…!"

"His body was found after an explosion. It was burnt beyond recognition." Une looked away. She could have told Quatre about Relena's condition quite easily, but… Trowa Barton's death… was a different matter…

"I'm going to prove to you that it isn't Trowa." Quatre stepped away from Yvan, then picked up the paper on the ground and tore it to pieces while his eyes shone with unshed tears. "He isn't dead. He can't be."

Yvan touched Quatre's shoulder to give him comfort. "Quatre… I'll… I'll go with you and check this report, if you want…" She knew what he was going through… all too well.

Quatre looked at her then embraced her, afraid that he might collapse. He kissed her hair and knew that she will give him strength… "Thank you, Yvan… I think I will need you..."

"You have me. I'm not going anywhere." Yvan whispered, knowing that she couldn't let him go just when she had thought she lost him.

Quatre slowly turned to Une. "Lady Une, do you still need me here, or can I go?"

Une nodded. "Go ahead. I'll stay and clean up this mess. I'll follow soon. You can use my plane, Quatre. The pilots know the route."

"Thank you." Quatre whispered before he pulled away from Yvan then motioned for Rashid and the others to move towards one of the heweys. His hand reached for Yvan's and they walked together to the helicopter. 

She could feel the curious stares from the men around Rashid, then she suddenly remembered something. She stopped Quatre, turned around, and ran back to Une. "Please tell my mother where I'm going. She's in Cravoch, 24 East Hzah."

Une nodded, her quick mind memorizing the address. Suddenly, she remembered the message they received from Quatre a few days ago… the one with the familiar logo- "Quatre!"

Quatre stopped and turned. "What is it, Lady Une?"

"When you reach the base, contact Wufei and tell him to move their position to the Main. The lower basement is open for them. I'll make sure that the Intelligence does not override my command."

"Of course, Lady Une." Quatre answered, almost like an automaton. 

"The files you sent me. Explain them to Wufei."

Quatre nodded once again. He had a feeling that the Preventers had encountered something that has to do with those files. He waited for Yvan to reach his side then asked a question that might make her think twice. "Are you sure you want to go with me?"

Yvan nodded, though fear started to grow in her heart. She was going to leave her land for the very first time… It was exciting and scary at the same time, but Quatre will be there with her. "Yes."

Une watched as her niece and Quatre boarded the helicopter, along with the Maguanacs, and wondered how those men got into the country without Morley finding them… Shaking her head to bring her back to reality, she hoped that Wufei would just follow her orders and not make a scene.

'I wonder how he is holding up with the Intelligence Alliance…' The thought that it was Wufei who found the burnt bodies… was he already informed who they were? She had kept an eye out after each gundam pilot since the war ended, all, save for the elusive Heero. Quatre, she always had followed through the news. Duo, she made sure was well established during those first few years. Trowa, she was able to create a contract with the government and the circus, and finally, Wufei… 'I hope he's doing all right…'

{_Heartfire's Note:_ At the moment, I'm not going to put a 'preview' of the next story. I think I need a bit of rest- having written two chaps a week save for last week- and writer's block is definitely laying its weight on my mind. I will be emailing those who have passed along your emails/signed reviews, though ^_^ I hope you won't mind the late answers. It's been a bit hectic here lately. Take Care everyone. I'll try to inform those whose emails I have when I post the next story—whenever that may be.} 


	37. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 1

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Four: Uneasy Alliances  
Chapter One  
by Heartfire  


**__

~*~ 

"… Beside my bed the bright moonbeams glimmer Almost like frost on the floor Rising up, I gaze at the mountain bathe in Moonlight; Lying back, I think of my old home. … the world is like a great empty dream. Why should one toil away one's life? That is why I spend my days drinking… … I drink alone with none to share Raising up my cup, I welcome the moon…"

- by Li Po -

~*~

{Heartfire's Note: Before you start, you must know by now that I RARELY put any notes at the beginning of a fic, unless I think I have to. PLEASE READ this. WARNING: Wufei's story is full of double entrende- that is, double meaning wherein the 2nd meaning is something related to sex/sexual innuendos. There are some nudity, profanity, and a potassium warning in some of the chapters—you will see and understand it later. There are no lemons, but it's a high rating of lime.}

****

…

'Alright… I played the mute-blind act long enough.' His barely contained irritation have chained his joints and muscles into tight springs ever since Une released him from his duty, and now, alone, they finally broke free. Without a glance at the woman to his right, he spoke with his no nonsense voice. "Spill, Une."

"Always to the point, Chang…" Une's soft voice was a soothing sound, enough to make a person want to trust her- if you're not used to her.

"You wouldn't just take me away from Relena." He kept his glare ahead. The soft fluorescent lights, showing the way. "And why the hell weren't you surprised when you saw Yuy here?"

"I thought you didn't like working for that 'weak onna'." Une hid a small smile. She could distinctly remember every word of annoyance, every word of displeasure Wufei had complained to her ears all those years.

Wufei nearly stopped and argued, but he caught himself. He will not let this woman get to him. "You know what I mean."

"So, I suppose that… working for the 'weak onna' was up to your level, then?" She couldn't help her tease. Who wouldn't when they could see the stiffening of his shoulders- just like that? 

Wufei grunted. All right! Fine! So working for Relena wasn't the laid back job he first thought it would be. Actually, working for her had kept him on his toes, and he liked that, but if Une doesn't stop grating that fact to him…

"Enough with the witticisms, Chang." Une stopped in front of P-wing 27 and opened the door. "We have a situation at hand."

"You mean besides the one about Arche?" Wufei followed her then closed the door behind him. The conference room was empty and bare, other than the small projector in the middle of the room and the two chairs. It almost looked like an interrogation room, but he knew better. Wufei walked to one of the seats. "Besides the one that just happened today? Besides the one-"

"Wufei." Une turned and gave him a withering glare.

Her exasperated voice made him check in his sarcasm. Une never was the type of woman who's easily shaken, and he complied with her unspoken request. "What do you need me for, Une?" 

"First, let me answer your question. I don't know why Heero Yuy chose to show up today but he was here a few days ago because I wanted him to work for us. I want him to create some… programs." Wufei's nod showed her that he knew what she was hinting about- the hackers.

"It was hard to locate him," God only knew how many times she thought they caught up with him, but he always escapes. "But I finally managed, a couple of weeks ago." Une turned on the projector in the middle of the room to signify that the subject was closed. The shaft of light bounced from the white cloth on the wall and the map of world appeared. "Mr. McGregor, Director of the Intelligence Alliance, had expressed his concern about the disappearance of many populace around various key places in the world."

Wufei frowned as he stared at the map in front of him. "Key places such as…?"

"Well populated areas." A new screen scrolled over the wall with red shades in different areas of the world. "China, Philippines, Indonesia, Kiev, France…" Une turned her head slightly to give a glance at Wufei. "Think of all the populated areas around the world and all of them had experienced a quick drain. Also, some colonies: Genesis, LeRues, and Somerset, to name a few." Different orbiting satellites showed on the screen, then the world map once again.

"They died, they caught a disease…" Wufei shrugged indifferently. He had kept an eye out even though his main focus was Relena, and he never saw anything that would warrant attention. "I don't see why you should concern yourself with a good resizing of the world population."

Une shook her head. "Those theories were speculated upon and they were set aside. There were no incurable diseases that could have caused massive deaths without the government's knowledge. Also, according to the reports, the ones who had gone missing were all able-bodied adults at the prime of their life. Look at these numbers." Une passed a paper to Wufei. 

Mentally, Wufei computed the six digit numbers from all over the world and… his right eyebrow shot up. "A significant number." He forced his voice not to show surprise as he handed the paper back to Une. "Who did the computations?"

"Don't act brainless, Chang. It doesn't become you." She changed the picture on the wall. "Besides, having spent years beside Relena, you know more of politics than many significant others." Compliments are always a good boost to the male ego…

He tried not to preen and nodded towards the new map. "Why India?"

"India has the highest number of loss from all the others. The Intelligence Alliance already dispatched a team somewhere between…" Une reached for her laser and pointed to the picture. The red light seemed to burn a hole through the screen. "East Godavari and Indravati. The location is far away from the current active India since William doesn't want to rile people's speculation, especially when there are already many who speaks of being snatched away by Krishna, or some other boogeyman." Une faced Wufei once again. "What do you think?"

Wufie shook his head. "I think that this will be a wild goose chase." Opal eyes that showed wisdom and strength met Une's. "The statistics may not lie, but like the economy, there are many factors which could have affected such drastic number of disappearance."

Une bid her time. "It might interest you to know that there are large supplies of coal, iron, and lead around this area." Une drew a circle around a portion of India with her pointer. "Not to mention that the seclusion aided by government restrictions, forest regions, here, and the mountainous terrain, here, would have provided ample concealment if there were any secret military upraising. There had also been many questionable satellite discrepancies around this area."

"If." Wufei glanced back at the map while some auspicious benefits came to mind. One, he will have time for himself and no more worries about security for another person for the time being. That's Heero's job now and though he will miss that waif girl, he did his part in the matchmaking arena- something that was definitely not his forte. If anybody had asked his opinion, he would have said to knock those two on the head and lock them up in a warehouse. Two, he would be able to re-train and become fit once again. Three, he'd be away from all the misery of society. He grimaced as though he didn't relish the idea. "I'll take it."

"Even if you didn't, you wouldn't have had any choice."

He knew that, but Une rarely uses her rank over his decisions. Wufei stood up, ready to leave. He would like to pack and get ready, though Une would never know that. He won't give her that pleasure. "I know." 

"Wufei, wait." Une stood up to stop him even when she knew she didn't have to.

Wufei turned and faced her. He saw a bit of uncertainty… Maybe the situation with Arche was getting too much? He sighed. He knew the situation and, sad to say, she's right. It was a good decision to send Quatre in place of Duo… That braided fool. Of course… he did approve of what that irritating baka had done to one of the spoiled rotten spawns of the Morley family.

"You will have fifteen men under your wing from the Red Patrol."

He couldn't stop the frown on his face. He was going to be given a patrol? No! He wants to do this on his own! "Red Patrol? Should I even ask why you're giving me fifteen of your best men for an 'IF' post?"

She didn't have to school her face to show her seriousness. It came along with a worry and bad premonition. Something stunk and both William and she could smell it… even if not many people could… "If this turns out to be more than expected, then I want to have the best already involved."

Slanted Chinese eyes didn't waver as thin lips formed the words she had been waiting to hear. "I work alone."

Une met his gaze with her own glare. "You do not have any choice."

He knew that he didn't… Damn… he doesn't want to work with a bunch of wailing men. He could tell that she wouldn't budge… Fine. Let her think she won. He will make sure that those men will feel his dislike. Wufei walked to Une, reached for the pointer, and then turned it on. The beam of red light settled Northwest of the area Une had circled before. "I want to see how good your men are. I want the team to be dropped at Chandrapur. We'll hike from there."

Une hid a smile, knowing exactly what he was thinking of. "They're your team now, Chang. Do what you will."

****

…

"Alright you spores!" Wufei leaned against the thin metal divider between the barge and controllers. The jesting and laughter stopped abruptly as everyone snapped in attention on their seats and looked at the glaring Chinese.

"Everyone listen up!" Wufei gave each one of them a glower that pierced their heart. "I don't want to hear any moaning, groaning, or crying out there! We are going to hike from Chandrapur to Godavari. From there, we're going to track those IA's. Everyone got that?!"

"YES SIR!"

A smirk appeared on Wufei's face. Already, he could tell the strengths and weaknesses in each of them and he's going to test them both ways. "Let's see what you Red Patrol are made of…" He turned around and sat beside the main pilot. He could tell that all fifteen were giving him a grimace, a smirk, or something worse with their fingers… He couldn't care less. He'd been through too many bullshit in his lifetime… Funny how all of them seem just the same age and yet- Wufei smirked- he's their superior in every possible way… 'Get ready guys… you're in over your head…'

****

…

"He's not human!" The gasping sentence came out as a surprise to Rusty, especially since he didn't think he had enough strength to talk. "Look at all of us!!! We look like hell!!!"

"God… I didn't sign up for this… Why did you put me here?" Kevin hoarsely whispered to the clear blue sky as he lay on the dry, chapped land.

"I thought you said that he was a good man?" Terrence asked the man beside him, washing his hands with a few drops from their canister.

"He is… well… good with respect to his profession…" PJ dropped onto the hot sand while he tried to gain back his breath.

Janus weakly glanced at Wufei. "Look at him…"

Jerome looked over and saw Wufei taking a whiff of the afternoon breeze without even a single drop of sweat! "Oh God, we're paired with Tarzan…"

"Guys, come on… Look at this!" Chris snapped his arms around him, the only one who seemed to have a bit of strength. "The clear sky. Trees… Nature at its best!"

Ian quickly threw a stone at him, but too tired, his aim went wide. "Yeah! And aching back, sore feet-"

A slap echoed from another side. "Bugs, mosquitoes. Thank God we're vaccinated!"

Chris shrugged then looked at Travis who was just sitting at the roots of a rubber tree, his back against the trunk, his face tilted to the radiant sun. Relaxing. Good, at least one of them seemed to be enjoying himself. "Yo Trav! You okay over there?"

A groan answered them before the man turned to his side. "Don't wake me up, mom."

Laughter erupted in the air and caught Wufei's attention. When he glanced back, everyone hushed. 'Guess everyone's tired… Good.'

"I'm going to check the land under the cliff." Rene whispered as he stood up.

"Rene! Will yah rest?! You want us to look bad?" Will complained in an irritated whisper.

"Aw hell, Will! Give it a rest! At least our leader is standing up to Commander Chang's expectations." Tyrone stood up then faced Rene. "I'm going with you."

Harry groggily stood up as Rene nodded. "I'll go with you, too."

Wufei watched as the troop leader and two of his usual comrades walked towards the edge of the cliff to map out their next course. If his calculations were correct… they should stumble upon the IA's camp sometime soon- Wufei nearly bolted to the boys when Rene's jaw dropped, Tyrone fell down to his knees, and Harry clutched his chest as if in a stroke.

Everyone who had been watching the trio stood up and ran to them, concerned. Wufei reached them before any of the other twelve.

"Gu… guah…" Tyrone tried to speak. Rene swallowed repeatedly and Harry couldn't seem to breathe…

The others reached the ledge and received the shock of their lives. The ones who could still move their jaws cried out-

"Oh my God!"

"I've died and gone to heaven…"

"That isn't a mirage, is it?"

"Maybe someone threw a bomb from the sky and we're just…"

"Are those…?"

"…Women…" The word was said in a sigh.

"Holy shit! Are those panties on that clothesline?!"

"And lacy bras…!"

Wufei, already able to harness his initial shock, tore his eyes away from the female utopia down below, and then faced his men. "ATTENTION!!!"

His men scrambled to stand in forced attentiveness. The straight line formed and Wufei glared at them. The scene below them caught his eyes once again. The camp of women who could be hikers with government passes, or missionaries, or-

A fluttering red flag made Wufei take a second glance at the center of the white tents. 'Hell no!' Wufei's eyes flared into an unquenchable fire. His men tried not to look afraid. Having spent two weeks with him was enough to be familiar with some of the commander's facial expressions, and what he could do to them! 'Une… you're going to have a lot of explaining to do!!!' How could she do this to him! How could she have forgotten to say this one damnable detail?! "Now listen up everyone!" He faced his men, fire ablaze in his eyes. "Those women down there are not to be looked, not to be touched, and not to be whistled at! Any verbal or physical actions towards them and you will all wish you never laid eyes on a single bust or butt."

Mental groans and expletives ran through their heads. "Does that mean we're going to go down there?!" The whispered exclamation reached Wufei's trained ears.

"Wilmore!"

Ian gulped and, with quivering knees, stepped forward. "Yes sir!"

Wufei walked to him then leaned down to glare at the young blonde. He could tell that the boy was tired… Perfect. "Squat."

Ian's eyes widened but did as was commanded. "Yes sir!"

"We are going to go down there and meet them." Wufei turned away so they wouldn't see his disgusted look. "They're the camp we're looking for." He could already hear their mouths drop to the ground.

"P-p-permission to speak, sir."

Wufei nodded. "Go ahead Hackett."

"We were supposed to meet the Intelligence Alliance camp. Does that mean that they are…?" His voice trailed off.

"Finish your sentence Hackett!" One of the things that irritates him the most is when people do not finish their sentences!

Rene gulped. "That they are the IA commando team?"

"Correct." Even though he wished he wasn't.

"Damn! A whole squad of women-!"

"Guillory! Squat now!"

"Yes sir!" Travis stepped forward and met his orders.

"We are going to camp here tonight and move out tomorrow morning at first light. UNDERSTOOD?!"

"YES SIR!"

The men gave sympathetic looks to their two sweating comrades then filed out to make their tents. 

****

…

"Ping!!!" A shapely auburn ran inside the middle tent and nearly bumped into their commander. "Ping!" She grabbed the woman by the shoulders and started shaking her excitedly.

"Hey! Hey! Samantha! Careful. I need my arms. I would like them to stay attached to my body!" 

"Oh… sorry! I'm just so excited!" Samantha took her hands away from Ping's body then started half pacing, half hopping in the small tent. "There are men up on the ledge!"

"Men?" Ping walked out of the tent, stared at the 'Half-Moon' ledge and saw the thin strand of smoke from a campfire. Whoever they were, they were not covering the fact that they're up there! Too confident that there were no danger, perhaps?

"Yes. Fifteen. One for each of us!" Samantha walked to Ping's bed and lay down on it, her long blonde hair falling like golden waterfall while a dreamy expression settled on her face. "Just think! Fifteen men for the picking."

"Careful now, Juliet. Your Romeo might not be there." Ping tapped her chin, trying to figure out who would be out at this side of India. She never received any notification, or event. "We're not sure if those are hairy creatures or… men."

Samantha sighed, rolling to her side and propping her chin on her knuckles. "Who cares?! They're men!"

"Are you sure there're fifteen?" She already started creating strategies in her head, knowing every twig and stone around the area. "Because if you're right, then we outnumber them by one."

"Well, according to Tarra and Christine, there are fiftee- oh!" Hands went over her perfect mouth while blue eyes gave an apology. "I was just thinking about the platoon- I didn't include the commander so, its actually sixteen."

"We're evenly matched." Ping walked to her desk to look at the map. She didn't really care who the strangers were. They could handle them easily, she's quite sure of it. "Tell Miondy to contact the base for any information we need to know then get Tarra and Christine to check them out again. Try to figure out if they're out here for a reason, or for leisure, then get the others ready with their guns. I don't want to take any chances."

"On my way, Ping." Samantha quickly hopped away from the bed, clicked her heels together, gave a mock salute, and then rushed outside. 

Ping counted to ten before-

"Hey Ping…" Samantha's head popped back in from the space between her tent flaps. The blonde gave an embarrassed smile. "Yah think I could possibly go with Tar and Chris?"

'I knew it…' Ping grinned, unable to hide her amusement. "Fine. Go eat your heart out." Her troops could take care of themselves.

****

…

"Yes sir?" Rene stood inside Wufei's tent. Once again, left in awe as to how his commander was able to pack so much, still be at the lead, and have his tent up before any of them… Guess that's why he's the chief, right? 

Wufei didn't look up from his desk as he studied the map for the hundredth time. "There are three pairs of eyes observing this camp. Make sure that none of your friends say anything significant."

Rene frowned. All of them already had their dinner, was able to clean up so they'd be presentable tomorrow, and he already had PJ keep two servings for his still squatting comrades… but through it all, he didn't see any spies. Then again, Wufei Chang was rarely wrong. "Yes sir."

Wufei nodded and Rene left. The moment the boy vacated his tent, Wufei walked outside once again and saw the still shadow figures against the trees. They were perfectly covered, but he knew they were spies. He glanced back at the two still squatting men and then mentally pushed them… As if he had telekinesis, the two finally dropped down to their knees and then onto their faces- dead to the world.

Everyone stopped and stared at Wufei. He glared at them. "Let them be your example. Remember! Be blind, mute, and deaf!" He's damn sure that his men knew what he's talking about. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Rene, walking around. His men snapped straighter than before. "Palmer! Boone!" 

PJ and Jerome snapped in attention. "YES SIR!"

Wufei motioned to the two men on the ground. "Get them cleaned and into their bags."

"YES SIR!"

Without another glance at the men, he entered his tent. He hadn't expected to baby sit fifteen men. All his plans were ruined. Dammit, he wanted to be alone in this mission! That was one of the things he missed now that he works for the Preventers. And now! Those women… Damn it all.

****

…

The tent entrance fluttered open and Samantha entered once again with a beautiful Hawaiian following right behind. 

"Report." Ping ordered, uninterested as she wrote in her logbook.

"They're cute! Handsome! Oh God! I've already laid my claim on that one tall blonde man. Don't you think he was hot, Christine?" Samantha sighed.

Christine grinned, enjoying a certain vision in her mind. "I want the tall, silent one."

Ping's pencil nearly broke in half, annoyed, but instead of snapping at the others, she just rolled her eyes. "Your descriptions are too vague, how will the others know whom you're claiming?"

Christine and Sam just giggled, not at all hearing the sarcasm outlined in her voice. "We've already got-"

"First dibs on the men since we were the first to see them."

Ping leaned back against her backrest. It was hard to stay mad at her friends, and just seeing their animated faces, well… it brought a playful smile on her lips. "You do realize that when I say report, I meant a real report and not some school girly gushes."

"Oh Ping! Come on! Why are you so serious all of a sudden? Besides, it'll be a nice change from that old priest who comes in every two months." Sam walked behind her and patted her back.

"Yeah, Minxie Lady. All the girls have been worried about you." Christine added as she sat on the makeshift table, her long midnight hair touching her legs.

Ping gave a repentant smile. "I apologize. I guess I'm just a bit stressed… a little angry, too…" Finally, her anger broke and she pounded her fist on the table. "William McGregor just had to involve the Preventers into _my_ mission as if _I_ couldn't handle it."

Christine touched her hand. They all know the ongoing tension between their commander and… well… the Director of the Intelligence. "He just wants to make sure that if there's anything to be truly concerned about, there will be a backup."

"Yes, I know that…" Christine, the team's voice of reason, spoke wisely once again. "But I'm still angry." Ping sighed then stood up and turned away from her friends. "I don't even know when those Preventers are going to show up." And start wrecking her life.

Christine and Sam glanced at each other. "Well… I think they're already here."

"What?" Ping turned and stared at them, green eyes with gold flecks widening.

"The men on the ledge had a structured event and they were following the commands of one man, snapping in attention like real soldiers- oh it was beautiful to watch them!" Christine wrapped her arms around her petite body.

Ping shook her head while dread seeped into her bones. "In other words… they're the Preventers."

"Yep. And they are probably going to come down here tomorrow morning." Sam whispered excitedly.

"I can't wait! I wonder what I should wear…"

Ping sighed. Her friends could be so dense sometimes… then again, they're the ones who keeps her sane. "Tell the others to keep their guns near and to go about with their daily duties tomorrow."

"If I'm going to have to point a gun at any of them, it'll only be to force him to make love to me." Sam sighed.

"Wicked love." Christine added as she licked her lips.

"Honestly!" Ping clapped her hands in front of them. "Girls! You're being imp-"

"Ping! Six months with no male contact is enough to drive a woman mad you know." Christine pointed out just as Sam nodded.

"Exactly!"

Ping gave up and threw her hands in the air. "I am pulling ranks right now! No one moves until I give the say so!"

Christine's and Sam's eyes widened. "But-"

"No buts! Everyone can look but no one should touch- and no verbal statements!"

The look on the two women's eyes rivaled that of a little kid asking for ice cream and Ping had to keep her iron grip on her lips. "You are both dismissed."

Sam and Christine snapped their heels together. "Yes ma'am." With a grimace, they left the room.

Ping took a deep breath, let it out slowly then faced her office. It was clean enough… Time to get ready for tomorrow and show whoever's in charge of that group who's really in charge in this mission.


	38. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 2

**

- Chimera of Life -  
Story Four: Uneasy Alliances  
Chapter Two  
by Heartfire  
***

**

"Blaksher!" The only redhead in the group moved forward.

"YES SIR!" PJ rushed forward in a half jog, half march.

"Have you reported our current situation to Colonel Une?" Wufei pulled the last strap around his pack then pulled it on his shoulders.

"YES SIR!"

"Good." He faced his men. The whole camp was finally cleared. "Alright men! Move out!"

Everyone started marching forward in a perfect line, even the two significant people who were made to squat, their sore legs aching with each step. 

Rene looked at his friends and they all gave him their serious faces. They had all agreed, last night, to behave… else suffer the consequences. 

****

…

Ping woke up early that morning and was given the surprise of her life when she saw all her troop members up and kicking! And then, when she walked out of her tent, everyone had snapped in attention… That does not usually happen when it's just them…

"At ease."

The girls relaxed.

"I am not sure if Sam already announced my message to you but I will repeat it again. I do not want any of you to go near, to touch, or to talk to these men, understood?"

Sam and the other girls grinned. "YES MA'AM!" Oh they understood all right… what Ping didn't say was they can't look… and a certain look accompanied by a certain tilt of the head was as good as a touch…

A petite auburn ran to the middle, stopped in front of Ping, and then saluted. "Ma'am. They're on the move." Hushed excitement rushed through the air.

Ping nodded, her heart fluttering hard against her chest. It had been far too long since the IA and the Preventers had worked together. Both have grudges against each other for reasons unknown to her. All right, so maybe she's a bit prejudiced because of what she had heard about them… "Dawn." Her friend stepped forward. "I'll be at the clearing. Call me when they reach the premises."

Dawn nodded. "Yes, Colonel Rossi."

Ping's eyes nearly bulged in surprise. Dawn rarely spoke like that… Only when they're in the IA compound… "Fine."

Ping left and Sam faced the group after she made sure their commander was out of hearing range. "All right girls… Let's see what they've got and…" The mischievous sparkle in her eyes rivaled the sun's rays. "Show them what we have. Everyone will meet at Hannah's tent later on tonight."

The troop gave their sign of compliance before they dispersed and… made sure they were ready.

****

…

A sigh left Ping's lips as she leaned against a tree and looked at the clear river, rushing down their path… Why does she have such a bad feeling about this? Why is it that… she wants to go and talk to Stephen? She closed her eyes and willed for her mind to stop worrying. 'I can do this… I can do this…'

A sudden gentle breeze fluttered her golden curls and she smiled as she faced the morning sun. She forced herself to imagine the ocean with gentle waves lapping on light brown, fine sanded shores… the sound of seagulls overhead-

"Ping!!! Ping!!!" Dawn came crashing out of the thin strip of trees and onto the clearing. She turned around and her sparkling eyes fell on her superior. "Come on!!! They're here!!!"

Ping bit her lower lip. "Alright. I'm right behind you. Go on ahead." Good thing that she had her tent moved closer to the clearing last night and had another tent set up in place of it. Dawn was a couple of steps in front of her and the queasy ambiance she could feel made her start to talk about nothing. "You know, I just wish that those boys out there wouldn't think that we're a group of helpless women. If they come barging in here like some egotistical, arrogant bastar-" She nearly plowed against Dawn who suddenly stopped in place. 

"Dawn!" She walked around her friend but was suddenly stopped when Dawn caught her arm in a death grip. Ping glared at Dawn, saw her friend's wide, panicked eyes, but thought nothing of it as she shook the hand off her arm. "I want to get ready so let go."

Dawn shook her head but it was too late. Ping walked into her tent's back flaps and saw… a Chinese looking man glaring at her. No doubt that the man heard every word she had… said. Ping quickly turned and glared at Dawn. Her hands fluttered in the air in their own sign language- 'Why the hell didn't you tell me?!'

Wufei frowned… That's her? She's the leader of this whole sorry bunch of girls? They were not in uniform, and were going around the premises as if this was some leisure camp out. She's nothing more but a child! And a blonde to boot! Damn! Wufei shook his head in regret. He will have to work with this child.

Dawn answered with her own gestures. 'He said your tent and when he learned that this was your tent, he walked in here. We couldn't stop him!'

Wufei frowned. Obviously, they do not want him to hear what they're talking about. His lips turned in a silent snarl.

Slowly, Ping turned around once again. So long peaceful talk… hello explosive ones… There's nothing more to do but to lead the lion by the mouth. Her chin rose into the air and she met Wufei's eyes. 'Think of something bad… think of something bad…' She tried hard until- 'Oh yeah…' Her eyes flared. 'He forced himself into my tent.'

Wufei saw her green eyes slant and it irritated him some more. They're the ones who was insulted by her and she had the decency to look at him like that?! "Bastards, Lieutenant Colonel Rossi?"

Ping forced herself to meet his stare and at the same time, stop the blush rushing onto her face. "Yes, bastards. If you are talking about the last word to my sentence, then you are correct."

Wufei's eyebrow shot up. Instead of having the desired reaction from her- that of surprise and embarrassment- the girl had actually thrown the ball effortlessly and with grace back at him. 

"I'm afraid that I'm at a disadvantage, sir. Obviously, you're a Preventer, the team we were supposed to wait for. You know my name yet you have not introduced yourself to me." Ping inclined her face and hoped that she was giving him the look she intended- that of haughty annoyance. They'd already gone off the wrong foot, so, why not make it worse?

Wufei didn't move from the middle of the tent, still standing and still glaring at her as though it was she who invaded his space. "My name is Chang, Wufei."

Ping's eyes almost widened but she caught herself. They sent her one of the Gundam Pilots and she had insulted him?! How long had she wanted to meet one of them and now… Oh what a damn hole she'd dug herself into… She kept her face schooled and tried to show indifference. By the way Mr. Wufei- or was it Mr. Chang? What great timing! Its just like her not to remember something important when she needs to!- had pronounced his name, he knew he had a reputation.

Wufei nearly frowned when he didn't see even the slightest recognition of his name… then again, she still has milk on her lips. He shouldn't expect much from this little girl.

"Mr. Wufei-" Ping stopped when she saw a slight grimace on his face. "What?" Oh, he is infuriating her by the minute.

"If you want to call me by my last name, it is Chang. If you want to include my rank, it is Commander Chang."

Ping placed her hands behind her and gripped each other- hard. She smiled sweetly and nodded. "Of course, Commander Chang. You did say Chang Wufei before so, as any other reasonable normal human being, I thought that you said your first name first."

Wufei smirked. She's a joke. "You are not normal, Lieutenant Colonel Rossi. You are an Intelligence Alliance Commando. I expect you not to think like just any reasonable _normal_ human being."

Did he just insulted her?! Well! Two can play on that game! "And being a Preventer, I do not expect you to think normally." 

There it was again- the grace in which she had returned the ball onto his court. Interesting… Then, the impact of what she meant hit him in full force. She had insulted him! He's getting that itchy feeling of wanting to pull her onto his lap and slap her buttocks to teach her about manners. He was about to answer with a very scathing comment when Rene suddenly came inside.

"Sir! Permission to speak, sir!"

Ping crossed her arms over her chest, shifted her weight on one foot then started tapping the other foot. These Preventers came into her camp and was going into her tent as if they owned the place!

Wufei turned to Rene and nodded. "Granted."

"We received transmission from Colonel Une to contact her immediately, sir."

Oh, he's going to contact her alright… and hell if he won't scream at her face. "Tell Blaksher to come in."

Ping's green eyes flared once again. He didn't even ask her permission!!! This was her tent, dammit!

"Colonel Une requested a visual, sir!"

Wufei glanced at Ping. The thought that he should have asked for permission and that they had invaded her tent completely slipped from his mind. "Where are your equipments?"

Ping's eyebrow shot up. "You mean you wish to use our communications devices, Commander Chang?"

Rene winced at the woman's tone of voice while Wufei's hands turned to fists.

"Yes, I was planning to use them."

Ping slowly smiled… a smile that made Wufei raise his guard. "Dawn."

Her assistant walked inside and gracefully nodded at Ping. "Yes ma'am?"

Ping's eyes didn't leave Wufei's. "Dawn, Commander Chang was just asking me for a favor."

Wufei's eyes turned to steel. 'Favor my ass!'

"Yes ma'am." Silently, Dawn wondered why Ping was acting in such a… different way.

"He would like to gain use of our communication device. Would you please lead the way?"

Dawn gave a quick, meaningful look at Ping. Her superior was using a tone of voice she'd never heard her use before and by the looks of Commander Chang, he doesn't like it. "Yes ma'am."

"Commander Chang, just follow my assistant, Dawn, and she will take care of everything."

He was passed to a second in command… to the others, it doesn't mean a thing but between them, he knew it meant something… 

"Follow me, please." Dawn walked out of Ping's tent with Rene right behind, then, after Wufei gave Ping another withering glare, he walked out of the tent. Ping gave a sigh of relief before she went after them.

His men were situated in the middle of the camp in three straight lines. They were all surprisingly serious, with their eyes aimed straight ahead. She wasn't impressed. She grew up in a military compound and had seen so many of those things, thanks to her uncle. What impressed her, though, was that her girls were giving the men seductive glances and not one of the men seemed fazed! Were her girls loosing their touch or… were the men so very afraid of the Commander that they would not dare venture a look?

She walked inside the tent just in time to see Christine give the man who reported to Wufei a look that would have sizzled any other man. He only stood in front of her then placed his hands behind his back, unfrazzled.

"Ma'am, May I have permission to use your equipment?"

Christine glanced at Ping and she nodded. With a shy look directed only for Rene, she pushed herself away from the table and motioned for the man to take over.

"Is the frequency secure?" Wufei asked without looking at her.

"Of course." Ping's voice was sweet as honey. 

Wufei gave a brief glance behind him and saw her smiling at him- a dangerous smile that just widened when she caught his eyes. He truly does not like this girl. He snapped his attention back at Rene. 

"Colonel Une is online, sir!"

Wufei walked behind Rene and gave Une a glare. 

Une smiled slightly. So… Poor Wufei finally reached IA's camp… and by the looks of things, he also noticed that the camp consists of women… "Before you speak, someone has been trying to get a hold of you since two weeks ago."

Whatever he was about to say left him as he tried to think of anyone who would be looking for him.

"I'll just connect you."

The screen went black, blinked, and then Relena's face appeared. His eyes widened. He didn't expect her.

"Wufei! How are you?" 

"Relena?"

Ping frowned as she heard the woman's voice.

"I've been worried sick about you."

__

'She had been_ worried sick _about_ him?'_ The mutual thought sprang up in everyone's mind.

Wufei nearly choked in embarrassment. One of his men could hear, among with three other women. "Hackett, go back to the others."

"YES SIR!" Rene quickly left the tent, still confused as to why the former peace delegate Relena Dorlian would contact their commander and actually be worried for him!

"Oh, I'm sorry… there are people around, aren't there?" Relena's soft voice asked while her blue green eyes tried to look behind Wufei. 

'Whom is he talking to?' The women asked themselves.

Before Wufei could answer, Relena spoke. She knew that Wufei would never talk to her like a friend if there were people around. "Excuse me. May I ask whoever is in the tent to please leave for a moment?"

He felt his jaw almost fall once again while Ping felt her anger pulled for the last time. She walked forward as she spoke, "Whoever you are, this is a military operation. We do not allow personal calls. If you had wanted to say something to Commander Chang, you should have said it- Oh! Ms. Dorlian!" Ping's eyes bulged as she laid eyes on the woman on the screen.

Relena sweetly smiled at the young blonde who had walked closer to Wufei. "Hello. What is your name?"

Wufei couldn't speak. They're talking as if he wasn't in the room!

Ping gulped. This arrogant 'bastard' actually knows Ms. Dorlian?! Er… "Ping Galeana Rossi."

"Ms. Rossi." Relena nodded. "Pleasure. I was wondering if I would be able to speak to Commander Chang for a few minutes. I wasn't able to say my good bye to him before he left and well…" Relena smiled a knowing smile… a smile that could only be understood by women.

"Of course." What else could she have said? The former Queen of the World was talking to her and what could she say? "Dawn, Christine. Let's go."

"Thank you, Ms. Rossi." Relena called out before the three left. 

They gave each other a look of disbelief once they were outside, confusion so obvious on their faces.

"That was Ms. Dorlian…!" Dawn whispered. 

Ping shook her head. "Don't ask… I don't know anything." She looked around her… at the ground… trying to make sense of it, but she couldn't. "Dawn, make sure that everyone is in one place… I want to speak to the girls."

"Of course, Ping."

Dawn and Christine left and Ping was about to go back to her tent when the conversation inside caught her ears… curiosity won against ethics. She neared and… listened.

****

…

"Relena! Why did you have to call?" Wufei couldn't stop the complaint as he sat down on the chair in front of the monitor.

"I just wanted to see how you were… Duo told me that Heero punched you and well…" She noticed Wufei's quick grimace and knew that her friend was correct. "Oh! He did?! I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry? He was the one who punched me." Wufei grumbled as he crossed his hands over his chest, trying not to feel pleased that someone out there was actually worried for him.

Relena shook her head, not sure whether to be pleased that Heero showed such… a reaction, or feel guilty that she was happy Wufei got punched by Heero which could probably mean that maybe he did care for her. "Are you all right?"

Wufei couldn't stop the small ghost of a smile on his face. This was the first time they were separated in nearly ten years… he kind of… missed her… He nodded then looked past her. "So, where is he?"

"Heero?" Relena looked around then charmingly shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know."

A deep line appeared between Wufei's brows. "What do you mean you don't know? Don't tell me that you and he haven't…" The way Relena looked down at her hands spoke for itself. "Relena, I'm going to do something stupid but don't you dare laugh." Wufei warned before he grabbed the sides of the monitor then started to shake it as if it was a person. "Why the heck aren't you doing anything?! The whole Preventer office practically broke their necks trying to find him so that you two could finally get together and this is how you repay us?!"

Relena's jaw fell. "What…?!"

"Do you want him?" Oh the Gods! He couldn't believe he's doing this but for the sake of everything that is sane! End this lunacy!

Relena swallowed. "You know that I do."

"No. I want a yes or no. Do you want him?" He couldn't care less that he was acting out of his usual placid self. No one was there to see it, and Relena have seen him in a far less pleasing position than this!

Relena met his eyes. "Yes." 

"Then why the heck won't you do something?! Catch his damn attention!"

Relena couldn't believe she was hearing this! This person in front of her… it must be just someone who looks like Wufei! "I'm sorry but… who are you? Where's my friend Wufei?"

"I am here, on the verge of insanity." Wufei answered as he let go of the monitor and then sat down once again, finally able to garner back his control. "This damn place is full of weak onnas."

A slow grin appeared on Relena's lips. "Ah… there's the Wufei I know." Her eyes sparkled with uncontrollable laughter. Surprisingly, she and Wufei had become good friends after all those death-harrowing experiences. "I guess that I was able to reform at least a small part of you."

Wufei shook his head, remembering all those nights when they would just drink tea in front of her fireplace in comfortable silence. "No. Just a moment's insanity." It must be because he couldn't believe he did that!

"Wufei? Actually lost control?" Relena teased in an awed whisper.

"Shut up." Wufei growled out which prompted a laugh from the woman on the monitor. Actually, he doesn't really want her to stop. He could still remember those nights when they first started working with each other… how… silent she was.

"Now I'm sure that you're alright. I'll take your advice to heart and you take care. I think I can hear Duo about to come inside."

Wufei's eyes flared, covering the fact that he was happy he heard her laugh. "DUO?!"

"Now don't start anything. You're on the other side of the world, in case you've forgotten."

Wufei's lips turned into a straight white line. "Just he wait until I finish this mission… he's going to have a lot to pay for." 

Relena chuckled. She was in an unusually light mood, especially with two of her best friends in the house. Hilde was already making up her disguise so she could go out this afternoon. "I guess you're still mad at that last prank of his…" Duo had dropped a gallon of ice cream on Wufei while she was in their colony. It was hilarious!

"Don't remind me." Wufei cracked his knuckles, unable to wait for a chance to kill that laughing hyena. 

"Well, I think Une wants to talk to you now." She looked at him to show her sincerity and then touched the monitor as if to touch his face. "Please take care of yourself."

Wufei grunted, feeling pleased, and nodded before Une replaced Relena's face. "How is the Red Patrol holding up?"

"They're a bunch of egotistical weaklings." 

Une nearly coughed at the coffee she was drinking. 'Hmm… sounds like someone I know.' She placed the drink back on the desk. "They aren't living up to your standards?" 

"Not by any chance." Wufei placed his hands together because if he doesn't, he might just punch the monitor. "And what the hell were you thinking when you placed me with this sorry bunch of weak onnas?!"

From outside the tent, Ping bristled. For a moment there, she thought he had a humane side! Now… she'd just completely closed the door on that thought. Bolted and chained! How he became Relena Dorlian's friend was beyond her comprehension!

"Wufei, that team is the best in tactics, search, and destroy." Une replied.

"Humph! Why haven't they found what they're looking for, then? They had been out here for nearly six months!"

Ping saw red. Steam was going up from her head. She was so mad that she could just… just… scream! They've done all they could! They have searched the northern part of India and found nothing. There was not a single damn thing - but it's out there and she's going to find it with or without the Preventer's help! She didn't even ask for their help! Besides, they weren't the ones transferred from one continent to another in search of God knows what!

"I'm sure they've done all they could. Southern India is the last on the list." Une gave a steely gaze at Wufei. "I do not want you to degrade these women. If you give them a chance, they will prove to you that they are just as good."

Wufei just grunted.

Une shook her head. "Alright. I will contact William later on."

The monitor turned black and Wufei stood up. Ping took that chance to storm inside the tent and corner him.

"Chang!" Ping stopped in front of him and nearly punched him. Instead, she just jabbed her finger on his chest while she talked. "I do not appreciate how you people think that you could just barge in here as if you own this place. This was my mission from the very beginning and I will not tolerate any insufferable actions by you or your men."

"This is _our_ mission now." Wufei muttered through gritted teeth. How dare this girl demand such a thing! 

"Well I'm not happy with that!"

"Neither am I!"

The two stared at each other, their faces red with anger. 

Wufei leaned forward and nearly touched his nose with hers. "Let's get something straightened out. You mind your way, we'll mind ours."

"Fine." They turned away from each other and promptly exited the tent in opposite directions.

'We're weaklings, huh?' Ping jutted her jaw as she entered Dawn's tent and found everyone. 'Let's see who the weakling is, Wufei Chang.'

"Girls…" 

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

"Take your pick… I want you to make their lives miserable." The meaning was there… and everyone received it. Smiles erupted on their serious faces as they started haggling with who's going to get who.

"One more thing." 

They stopped. 

"Leave _Commander_ Chang alone." Oh she's going to make him pay. "I've got a score to settle with him."

The girls hooted. Ping was actually going to play the field? This they gotta see…

****

…

Wufei angrily walked to his men. He could already tell who had looked at one of the women, or maybe all of them. He stopped in the middle. "You all know the consequence of disobeying my orders!" Wufei walked to Kevin then glared at him. "You have just volunteered the whole troop for an exercise."

Everyone turned their head to a pale faced Kevin. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself!"

"Kevin! You're dead!"

"You wait until tonight!!!"

"I'm gonna kill you, Rogers!"

Wufei hid a grin and let the comments die down then- "Now!"

"Yes sir!"

The whole platoon dropped down on the ground and started.

****

…

"Girls!!! They're doing push ups- with one hand!!!" Carrida exclaimed as she peeked outside Dawn's tent. "Oh, they look so fine!"

Ping shook her head while her whole troop ran to the tent's entrance and stared at the men.

"My, my! Look at those muscles…"

"I could almost feel them."

"I wouldn't mind if I was under that bod. Mmmm! Mmm!"

The girls laughed gaily and cheered. Ping walked out of the tent to go back to her own when she gave a cursory glance and saw the men on the ground except for one- Wufei Chang… Ping scowled. 'I wonder if he could do half of what he forces his men to do.'

_{Take care everyone. I hope you enjoyed it so far.} _


	39. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 3

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Three**

**by Heartfire**

*******

An invisible line appeared on the grassy plane. The small stream that ran from east to west basically screamed 'barrier!' between the two camps. Girls vs. boys… Just like the time when one was a child, but this time- it was war- at least, to the two commanding officers.

"I can't take this!!!" The whispered comment reached everyone's ears. They had all converged in Rene's tent to… well… complain. Of course, Rene knew they wouldn't do anything. Wufei had already knocked Tyrone- their best fighter- out cold with just one blow. Being a Gundam pilot also grabbed at their respect, but there's nothing wrong with complaining!

"I'm gonna go crazy! Crazy I tell you!!!" The hysteria in that person's voice conveyed that he was, indeed, going insane.

"Shut up Ian! Commander Chang will hear you! Do you want another round on the track?!" Rene warned to the poor soul, and made everyone remember the consequence of not being in their tent at this hour. "You all know that this wouldn't happen if you just- just control yourselves!"

"Yeah! Easy for you to say, you abnormal freak! Commander Chang this, Commander Chang that. You probably never liked girls in your whole-"

Something fell on the floor, bodies scrambled to the edges of the tent while struggling noises could be heard from the middle. 

"If you can't take the pressure, Malone, then you shouldn't be in this damn mission!"  A stifled cry of pain resounded throughout the tent then the fighting stopped. Nobody knew who was knocked out silent… but they had a pretty good idea that it wasn't Rene.

A groan sounded from the floor.

"Sorry Malone… I didn't mean it." 

"Nah, it's cool, Hackett… I didn't mean it either." 

"Hey, this is just as hard for me… I just try to control myself… You guys should, too… I mean, we're supposed to be the best! And now, the person training us… He was a Gundam pilot! The one who killed Treize Krushrenada. How cool is that?"

A mumble of agreements echoed. 

"Come on… Listen to you! You're complaining like a bunch of grandmothers! Look, when was the last time you were all this fit? I mean, we were all starting to gather fat around the edges because we became lazy! I think my muscles grew an inch already and man! My washboard is back!"

The tension inside the tent slowly eased and the light banters began to emerge. A patch of light filled the tent as one of the men folded the flap. 

"Man… wouldn't it be so much fun if we're on that side, though…"

"Yeah… Holy! Guys!!! Side show on Tent Five!!!"

The men scrambled to open the flap and drooled at the sight of a woman's shadow illuminated against the tent's flap by a yellow light, slowly peeling her clothes off.

"I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die…"

"Hell! How could Commander Chang not look at any of those bodies when they all have that figure!"

"Damn if I know."

Outside the tent, a fist clutched around the tent cloth. Wufei stood, ready to pounce on his men… the tension in his arm showed his inner fight… All right, he'd been too strict… A silent sigh escaped his lips before he let go of the cloth and slowly stepped back. He'll give the boys this one night… Just this one…

The muffled laughter inside made him think of… well… hanging out… having fun like them… 

'No!' Wufei turned, angry at himself for thinking such thoughts. He stalked off to the other side of camp just to be alone. The moon above shone like a silver coin- perfect circle and light moonbeams… He stopped when he entered what could have been a land of vegetation centuries ago, now a meadow with grass as tall as his knees with night flowers abloom and showering its heady fragrance in the air. The soothing sounds of bubbling, crystalline river echoed at one side…

He faced the moon while a hand went inside his pocket and pulled out a small piece of blood stained cloth. A piece of his clothing when Meiran died in his arms. His memories swelled all too clearly as he dropped on both knees, placed the stained cloth a few steps away, stared at it reverently then clapped twice and bowed.

Wufei stayed in that position for a long time, then he finally sat back on his heels, dropped on the ground to sit Indian style and stared at the cloth once again. "I didn't kill Treize… he killed himself." The whisper disappeared with the breeze. Another deep sigh escaped his lips as he remembered those best-forgotten memories. 

During the last war, when he was still confused, Mariemaia had called him into her room. While he stood, she circled him. It could have been a funny sight- a child circling a warrior… and yet, instead of the child quaking in fear, it was the warrior who felt that questionable emotion. It wasn't fear… more of… apprehension. It was common knowledge, by then, who had killed Treize, though he knew that that knowledge was false.

And then… she spoke…

"I know you didn't kill my father… I've studied the battle records, so there is no need to look upset, Wufei Chang."

He had kept quiet, though his slanted eyes showed his irate feelings for her. He wished she'd stop circling, but when she finally did, right in front of him, and stared up at him with those unflinching eyes… he suddenly wished that she hadn't stopped.

"You were a worthy adversary… My father chose well." 

He couldn't exactly remember the thoughts that flitted in his mind the moment she said those words… but he could remember that confused, angry feeling…

"You may go."

He rarely followed orders, never if it came from a woman, and yet… for the first time in his life, he actually obeyed a female command- a female child.  That was how much power Mariemaia had as a child… even more so, now that she has grown… especially with Une's coaching. She really is her father's child.

"It's been a long time since I last talked to you…" He reached for the cloth then caressed it. Looking after Relena's well-being had kept him busy, but now, especially after hearing his men say those words, he just had to… be alone with her for a moment.

"At least I know that this time around, you will not stop me with one of your arguments." A small grin appeared on Wufei's lips. His eyes held that reminiscing look as he lay down on the meadow's grass and stared at the moon, the cloth in his hands. He had finally laid down his ghosts- oh a long time ago. 

Merian was someone he cared for, a lot. Not as a wife… more like… a special friend. They'd never been husband and wife, anyway. Sure they slept in the same room, on the same bed, but they never became… and he's just fine with it. He's at peace with himself. Just that sometimes, like right now, he feels lonely. That feeling had slowly crept in him these past few years… At first, he didn't quite understand it. Lately, though… he did. Yet, how could someone like him who often sought for ways to be alone… be lonely?

He let his mind wonder for a little while longer, about the past that he could remember… then with a grunt, he was on his feet, the piece of memory tucked safely in his pocket and he was walking toward the camp once again, ready to hit his bag.

**…**

"Nothing?"

"Nothing! I mean, the last time we pulled that show when we went undercover, every single man was howling!"

"And there wasn't even a squeak last night! Not even from their patrolling guard! He wasn't even looking at the tent!"

The girls inside Dawn's tent all sighed.

"Maybe we've lost our touch… Maybe we're not beautiful anymore…"

They all looked at each other, long sad faces stacked upon long sad faces. 

"Hey! We're all beautiful."

"Yeah? When was the last time you checked, Drake? We've been out of circulation since we started hunting for a ghost town.  How would we know that men's taste didn't suddenly take a nose dive for somethin'?"

"Hey! We're all talking as if its just looks they're after…"

The glares in everyone's eyes were focused solely on the person responsible for uttering that phrase, effectively cutting off the rest of what she was about to say.

"Uh… okay… so maybe looks does play a huge part…"

Ping shook her head. "Honestly! You all sound as if you've all quit."

"I think that's what we did a few minutes ago." 

Their leader rolled her eyes. "Just because you couldn't get what you want doesn't mean you have to quit. You're just used to getting whatever – or whomever – you set your eyes on… maybe it's time you received a challenge… and those boys out there are definitely a challenge."

"What are you talking about?!"

Ping grinned. "Incorporate something new to your strategy, girls… It always helps to keep the man on their toes after you show your interest." That said, she stood up and walked out of the tent. She'd just planted the seeds that would crush Wufei's camp to the ground- at least, she hoped- and now, she's about to give that seed its first taste of water.

Everyone filed out after their fearless leader and saw how she hiked her self-made, tight camouflage skirt up her hips, unhooked two buttons on her blouse from her neck and then tied the ends of her blouse in a sexy knot that showed her small, curvaceous waist. Then she unpinned her curly hair and let it fall down to her shoulders. Ping tried to keep her smile from showing and walked into their supply tent.

The others followed and watched as she went inside the 'storage room', or in this case, storage tent, pulled open a crate and grabbed an unopened marmalade bottle from inside then stalked off to the other side. Their eyes widened as they watched her gracefully skip over the small stream. The men still went about with what they were doing, almost as if nobody had intruded. 

Ping's heart pounded against her chest as she stopped in front of Commander Chang and Hackett, saluted gracefully, and smiled. "Good morning, Commander Chang."

Wufei frowned at the irritating woman. 'What the hell is she doing here?!'

As if to answer his unsaid question, she held out the bottle in her hands, that sweet smile still on her face. "Would you please open this for us? Nobody seemed to be able to. It's either we open it or break it and eat it with small shards of glass."

Hackett's face turned towards the ground, just to be sure that he wouldn't get scolded for supposedly looking at one of the IA's. 

Annoyed that the weak onna couldn't even open a single jar, Wufei quickly grabbed it, opened it in less than a couple of seconds, and then handed it back to her. 

Knowing that her troops were all observing her, she swallowed her anger at his superior look and meticulously took her chance as her hand gently brushed against Wufei's. She made sure that he felt that lingering touch then she smiled her best. "It isn't about being weak. It's about being practical." 

Wufei's eyebrow rose but she had turned away already, her golden curls catching the sun's rays as it bounced lightly around her shoulders. 

With a flip of her hair, Ping gave one last coy look over her shoulder. "Thank you and good day, Commander Chang." She didn't even want to look back until she could be quite sure she had reached Dawn's tent and met the surprised 'I can't believe you did that!' words her friends gushed out.

On the other side of the stream, however, both Wufei's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. He tried to keep his face schooled to that of his usual scowl, though he did find the situation slightly amusing. Her hands were very soft- Wufei blinked. What the-? Where did _that_ come from? Wufei growled in frustration. "Hackett!!! Get the men ready to move out!"

"Y-yes sir!" 

**…**

For the next few weeks, Wufei watched as woman after woman came in and out of their side of the creek just for some reason such as picking wildflowers, berries, and whatever other silly nonsense! His men, he could see, and hear at nights, were getting edgy!!! He couldn't punish them because he could see for himself that they were doing their best not to look at the girls… but even a man needs a break!

"Hackett!!!" 

Rene's back went straight as a ramrod at that tone of voice… he knew it too well… "Yes sir!"

"Take over." Wufei zipped his uniform close as he faced the young troop leader. "I'm going to have a talk with someone who needs a good lesson in discipline!" Or at least, disciplining her troops!

"Yes sir!" The others stopped what they were doing as they watched their commanding officer stomp angrily towards the girls' camp.

"Oh boy… Wonder what he's gonna do…" Someone beside Rene whispered.

"I have no idea…"

It was grating on his nerves… Didn't they agree to leave each other alone? The nearer he was to her tent, the angrier he became. He didn't even give a single cursory glance at the women he passed by. Damn them for making his men confused! Besides, how could the IA give a job like this to a girl her age?! She looked like she's just eighteen or something! He reached her tent and stormed in without bothering to announce his arrival.

"Rossi! I want to talk to y-" Wufei's words stopped in shock as he stared at her naked, golden brown body with droplet's of water making trails down her smooth back from the damp golden curls, matted at the base of her neck.

Ping stilled at the sudden intrusion. She had just taken off her robe, the one she was holding tightly in her fisted hands, when he came in. She was, in a way, thankful her back was to him.

Her head slowly turned to her side and Wufei caught the burning blaze of green fire in those catlike eyes before he was able to move his body in the needed one hundred eighty degree turn. His suddenly parched throat needed water, his lips opened and closed like a fish out of water, and his eyes were still shocked wide open. He had never, in his entire life, been in this situation! The hell is he supposed to do?

Ping breathed in and out deeply. She's going to handle this with grace and dignity. She will. She will. She will. She won't scream at him. She won't. She won't. But how the hell can she be graceful and dignified in such an undignified situation?! "Well! I would say 'come in' but you already took that liberty on yourself."

"I… I…" Wufei clamped his lips shut to stop himself from stuttering. He never stutters! He tried again. "I didn't know that you were-"

Ping didn't know whether to be amused at his reaction, or be angrier. "Naked? We're adults, Commander Chang. I'm sure you've seen a naked woman before." She couldn't help but add- "Besides, if you had announced your arrival, I would have told you."

'Not like this!' His mind screamed. Not when he thought her nothing more but a child and then he found those womanly curves on her! He didn't expect it! She shouldn't have them!  

"I just took my bath." Ping cringed as she donned on the first long shirt she could lay her hands on. What a stupid thing for her to say. It wasn't as if she needed to tell him that.

"Yes. I noticed." Damn! How could he not?

"Turn around, Commander Chang. I'm decent. Although you didn't have to. I could have dressed myself even with you looking at me." Liar! She would have knocked down anybody who could've seen her like that but she had promised herself she would handle every single matter with grace. Damn grace! Of course he wouldn't know that.

"I'm sure you could have." Wufei answered as he turned and stilled once again. She calls that decent?! The shirt didn't even cover half her thighs and it showed her… nipples! He was starting to sweat and that irritated the hell out of him. Actually, what irritated him more was that he couldn't seem to remember whatever he wanted to say!

"What did you want to see me for?" Ping motioned for the makeshift chair at the side of her tent while she sat on one of the crates they made into a table, automatically crossing her legs, not realizing that her shirt hiked up higher on her legs.

Wufei felt another pull in him that he couldn't begin to explain then his frustration on himself finally exploded. "I came here to demand that you instill discipline on your troops!"

Ping's eyebrow shot up. "Discipline, sir? What do you mean by "discipline"?"

Wufei pulled back one of the tent's flaps and motioned to the women outside, cleaning the camp. "Look at them! Don't you people have uniforms?! They're barely in their underwear!!!"

Ping frowned as she took in her troop's shorts, sandals and cropped to the midriff shirts. "I don't see anything wrong with what they are wearing. I require their services, not their taste in fashion."

"You are all acting like a bunch of tourist, ready to see the cultivated Southern India! How could you act professionally if you aren't even dressed properly!? And look at you! You're their supervisor and all you have on is a shirt!"

The disgust in Wufei's voice really nearly broke her patience but she held on to the reigns quite well. "And my panties. In case you've forgotten, Commander Chang, I had to improvise because of your sudden arrival." 

Wufei blinked. An image of a plain, white cotton panty underneath that cotton shirt that rode up her long golden thighs- Gah! No! "I demand that you and your patrol put on decent clothing and to stop disturbing my men!!!"

Ping breathed in and gripped her hands. "Two details, Commander. One. Have my women been minding your men's business?" Before Wufei could even answer, she moved on. "We agreed to not mind each other's business. We did not agree that there would be a certain area not to be threaded upon by man or woman. I do not think that they ever asked them what they were doing nor forced their services upon your men." She could see that the argument he was about to say was overruled by what she had said. Good. 

"Two." Ping stood up and walked to the other flap to pull at it. "In case you haven't noticed, there's a blazing sun out there. I will not be responsible for dehydration and sudden fainting spells."

Wufei glared at her. She had a good rebuttal to both his arguments. He was sweating too. He just doesn't want to show that it mattered. He'll get her yet. Just she wait. With one last withering look, Wufei turned around and stomped away. He was angrier with himself than at her- but at this moment, he doesn't want to think that he's not angry with her. Not steaming mad. No. That just won't do. Because if he doesn't hold on to anger, his damn head is going to be filled with images of a curving waist and long golden legs under a white cotton shirt!

Ping watched until he was safely on his side then waved her curious troop away. She walked back inside the tent and sighed. "Well… I think I handled that quite well…" Although she didn't like the fact that he saw her naked, the real score was that she made him eat his words.

An amused smile appeared on her lips.

Girls One. Boys None.


	40. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 4

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Four**

**by Heartfire**

*******

"Those women wouldn't be able to find their comb in their bags, let alone a damn compound. Stupid onnas." He couldn't seem to stop his comments. He's just too frustrated with everything!

Green eyes flared with burning fire. "I'm gonna kill him!" Ping muttered under her breath, a hand on her holster, ready to pounce on the Preventer troops who were just behind a couple of trees away. It was just coincidental that their paths ran into each other. Just coincidental, but hell! His latest comment to his second-in-command – the fifth one in fact! - about them being 'weak onnas' was just making her blood boil!

A couple of her girls grabbed both her arms and started to drag her away.

"Let me go! Dammit! I want to slit his throat!" She had enough of his glares from the other side of the stream. Had enough of his sneers, his high eyebrows, degrading look, holier than thou attitude! They're the ones who'd been hiking through tropical mountains in East, West, Southeast Asia for the past months, facing all dangers his boys hadn't met and they came out of each of those dangers alive and successful! 

"Ping! Get a hold of yourself! It won't do if you bite on him now. He'd just sneer at you some more."

Ping tried her best to get out of her friends' grasp. Her heels were making a trail, and her buttocks kept on hitting protruding rocks!

"You have to beat him in his own game."

"Besides, we know we're good. That's all we need to know. We don't need his opinion."

"And we're going to show it to them. We'll be given a chance."

"Just be patient. I think he's the only one in that group with that attitude anyway."

Ping closed her eyes. 'Be patient. Be patient.' She took a deep breath and let it out while at the same time, tried to think of the time when she had left Wufei high and dry for words. Yes… that helped. "I'm okay. Let go."

Her troop looked at her.

"I said I'm okay! Let me go- _Now_!" She suddenly found herself staring at the blue skies above, the back of her head aching. "Gee. Thanks. You could have let me down gently." She started rubbing her head as she glared at the grinning faces of her friends.

"You know… If he wasn't such an ass, I'd say he was cute."

Ping stared at one of her girls. "You've got weird tastes, Miondy."

Miondy winked. "Yes. I know."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Come on… it's getting dark. We have to get back to the camp." Ping pushed herself up, brushed away some of the soil and leaves on her body then started walking while the others followed.

"Christine, I want you to contact headquarters tonight and tell them of our progress."

"Of course, Ping. I'm on it."

"And I want to have a talk with McGregor." 

**…**

Ping ran inside the tent, right behind Dawn and saw the whole communications equipment in pieces. "Okay, what's the problem?"

Christine and Erica looked at her. 

"That's what we're trying to-"

"Figure out, and it's getting on my nerves!"

Ping bit her lower lip to stop the sigh that wanted to escape from her lips as she walked towards the table. She was no mech genius but she does know some stuff… though there hadn't been anything Erica couldn't fix before.

"I wash my hands off it. I'm going to go out and punch the bag. Anyone going with me?!" Erica's fiery brown eyes made everyone shake their head. "Fine. You know where to find me. Maybe by the time I cool off, I'll see the prob."

"Yeah… In a week or so." Helen sighed as she dropped on the ground as soon as Erica was out of earshot. "She's the one who holds the longest grudge, how'd you expect her to fix that?"

Ping shook her head. "Don't worry, she knows her duties. I would advice that you all be nice to her though. You know that she's one of the best."

A grumble of agreements came. It wasn't surprising since all of them were tired already. 

"We still have our radio. Use that later Christine." Ping looked at the parts once again then shook her head. "Anyone have any ideas?"

They looked at each other then shook their heads. 

"Uhm… the boys?"

Ping's suddenly flaring eyes darted to Samantha who flinched instantly. "Sam, if you're joking, I advise you to shut up."

Dawn took a step towards the cringing Samantha while Christine moved to Ping. Always the mediators in the group, the two gave a meaningful look to each other, one not lost to Ping.

"Dawn, Christine… You both know me well enough…" The warning was there, but the two didn't heed it.

"And you know both of us well enough, too." Dawn said as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Well enough to know that we will say what's on our mind." Christine added as Ping looked at her. They know that they were playing with fire right now, completely disobeying an indirect order from their commanding officer. Ping just hates that.

Dawn nodded. "Ping, Sam is right. We might need to ask for outside help. Erica wasn't able to do it… the other camp might have ideas."

She knew she was being bullheaded but- "In your dreams."

"Ping." Christine's voice was the tone of reason as she moved in front of Ping and stood there. "You've always done the best for our team. I know that deep down, in that sensible, realistic mind of yours, you know that it's much better to go and ask. Your pride is being a hindrance right now and that's not at all like you…"

Ping tried her best to act as if she didn't understand, but her expressive sea green eyes showed too much, and her sense of duty bound her. "I will not go there…" She walked to the nearest chair and sat. "But if anybody wants to ask for their help, I won't stop her."

She kept her eyes settled on the transmitter while around her, the girls looked at each other until Christine tapped her right hand to her chest and the others nodded. Christine flipped her straight, long black hair, walked in front of Ping then saluted.

"Permission to be excused, ma'am."

Ping nodded half-heartedly, still staring at the table. She heard the light flutter of the tent as Christine left then silence encompassed them. Her heart thudded against her chest, painfully reminding her that she was being unreasonable… that she was letting her friend take the bull by its horns… that what Christine was doing was supposed to be her duty. With that last thought, a frustrated growl left her and she stood up.

"Clean up." Then she left the tent and checked Christine's position. Her friend was walking quite slowly. "Christy!" Her friend didn't turn… Either she was too deep in her thoughts, or she needs to talk louder. Ping decided to call her code. "Kuriko!"

Christine stopped and turned, delighted to see Ping walking towards her. She waited until the grimacing blonde reached her and nodded. "Hey, Minxie Lady."

Ping just wrinkled her pert nose. "You know what? Just be happy I'm your commanding officer, or you'd be back at the base, demoted."

Christine's Asian eyes smiled. "I know."

With one last sigh, Ping combed her finger through her thick mass of curly, blonde hair that glinted with the moonbeams and moved ahead. "Let's go."

"Right behind you, Colonel."

Hackett was not the first to see them walking towards their camp, but he was the only one ready to face a slightly angry commander, disappointed that they still hadn't found what they have looking for. 

Wufei heard the soft swish as someone walked inside his tent.

"Permission to speak, sir!"

He nodded absently as he stared at the map on his table. They've covered the whole sector north east of their camp. But it was small compared to the whole, separated Southern India. 

"Colonel Rossi is moving to the front, sir."

At the sound of her name, he nearly broke the pencil in half. Why that reaction? He wasn't sure… And why was it that he could feel… excitement? For his answer, Wufei just grunted as he straightened and turned to his second. "Announce them inside when they get here."

"Yes sir." Hacket saluted and walked out, leaving Wufei staring at his pencil.

He wasn't sure why he took his hair out of its band, combed it quickly with his hands and re-tied it then straightened some of his things on the makeshift table he was using, but he was sitting on a chair by the time Hackett came in and announced their visitor's arrival.

"Colonel Rossi, sir!"

"Send her in." Wufei felt the urge to act bored, and he did.

From outside, Ping motioned for Christine to stay then she walked inside just as Rene held the tent open for her then dropped the flap and stood on guard, forcing his eyes not to look at Christine who was busy trying to look uninterested.

Inside, Wufei stood just as Ping came in. "Colonel Rossi."

The high and mighty air she had seen before hit her once again, and she tilted her chin higher in response. "Commander Chang."

"This is an unexpected visit." The light from the portable glow sent soft glints springing from her golden curls and Wufei found himself staring at her hair.

"I came to ask you…" Ping's jaw locked as she battled whether or not to ask him. When his right eyebrow arrogantly rose in question, she nearly wounded herself with the way her fingernails dug into her palm. She must do this… She will take this on just as she had done previously, with grace and good manners. Slowly, a painful smile appeared on her lips though her eyes were as cold as outer space. 

"You came to ask me, what, Colonel Rossi?" Wufei prompted. Here it was… He knew they couldn't do anything by themselves.

'Don't force me!' Her mind screamed as she tried her best to work her jaw. "I came… to ask… for your… help."

The last words were said through gritted teeth but Wufei heard it and the supercilious smirk that he gave her made Ping want to murder him right there and then. 

He knew it. He just knew they couldn't survive! "Where do you need help with, Colonel Rossi?" Wufei crossed his arms over his chest, proud that they finally succumbed. He's gonna use this until the mission is over, just like the way they wear their clothes.

Ping was the epitome of anger. "The WARC malfunctioned. My technicians were not able to locate the source, and since you would probably need the machine for visual contacts, I wish to extend the responsibilities to you."

Wufei nodded that arrogant nod of his as he grabbed his cap off a chair and walked to the entrance. He must admit, knowing how much she disliked his camp but still having the nerve to ask for help, well… it was, a bit admirable. With his face in its usual scornful mask, he flipped open the tent flap. "Let's go and find out what the problem is."

Ping walked out of the tent as proudly as she could. She didn't even meet Christine's questioning eyes as she stared straight ahead. 

"Hackett." He nodded as Rene stood in full attention. "Get Blaksher."

"Yes sir!" Rene turned and jogged to Josh's tent to jar the man out of his break. "Josh! The Commander wants you."

At those words, Josh was out of his bed and was running out of his tent in his camouflage pants, plain white shirt, and untied boots.

"Blaksher, sir!"

Ping watched as Wufei barely gave the new man a glance and motioned with his hand. 

"Come with me." 

"Yes sir!"

Wufei turned to Ping and gave her an inquiring look. With her chin held high, she led the way.

A few minutes later, Erica and Josh could only stare over the dismantled machine.

"Are you sure you modified the use for the relay diodes' negative polarity switching?" Josh asked as he tapped the transistor.

"Yes. I've already done that." Erica muttered as she curled her hands around the table edge. Does this guy actually think that she doesn't know what she's doing?

"Let's try to put this together again." Josh whispered as he glanced at Erica. 

She shrugged. "Fine."

Wufei stood on the other side of the table while Ping stood at the opposite end. The whole table was between them as Josh and Erica worked diligently to put the radio together again.

"Don't forget. Headphone audio controls are on the left side and the transmitter selection controls are on the right." Erica muttered as she pointed at the parts.

"Got it." Josh grinned. Girl knows her radios well. "The red and green LEDs are located on the left and right sides of the DX right? Just like the classic convention for visuals?"

Erica nodded as she smiled at Josh, rather sweetly. Wufei glared at his man while Ping mentally goaded Erica to flirt. 

"Where's the keyer and footswitch plug?" Josh asked as he tried to look for the parts. When he felt a tap on his shoulder, the things he was looking for were on Erica's palm.

"I'll plug them into the jacks at the rear panel."

Josh almost laughed but he accidentally looked behind him and Wufei made him swallow his smile. "Er… good… How about the digital voice keyer?"

"Already configured and done with."

"Okay. Great!" 

In no time at all, the two had the radio the way it was before… and still not working. 

"Well… and I thought two heads were better than one." Ping grumbled as she stood behind Erica.

Erica just sighed while Josh gave a helpless look towards his commanding officer.

Wufei pressed his fists against his hips. They should find out what's wrong… They should! "Let me see that." He knew some things about radios… but other than the needed facts, he's not into them. 

Ping raised her eyebrow while the two subordinates got out of his way. She wished with all her might that he wouldn't find the solution.

Wufei looked at the radio as if he knew what he was doing when, at that moment, his mind was drawing a blank! "Have you… checked the batteries?"

Ping nearly fell down on the ground at the suggestion. What? Did he think them that stupid?!

"Batteries?" The two subordinates quipped from the other side.

"I didn't check it." Josh said as he rubbed his head while Erica frowned in deep thought.

"Uh… considering that there isn't anything wrong with the hardware…"

She couldn't believe her ears! Ping shifted her inquiring green eyes to Erica, who wouldn't look at her. Wufei couldn't be right… He couldn't be! "Erica, bring a new battery for the radio and let's try Commander Chang's _simple_ suggestion."

The way she said 'simple' made him churn. He just hoped that he was right… Then she's going to eat her words. 

They waited until Erica came back. Josh installed the new battery and Wufei turned it on.

The screen flickered green.

Ping grabbed the table. 'No!'

Wufei's lips tilted to one side victoriously. 'Yes!'

Josh and Erica looked at each other and shook their heads. All the technicalities understood and the only thing missing were batteries!?

The two commandants' eyes met and sizzled with a deadly promise-

"Ping! The bentos are…" The two women who came inside the tent from the other end, stopped. A stick fell from the bundle in their arms as they felt the unmistakable tension in the air.

'Lydia! Miondy! Why now?!' She scolded them in her mind. All right… it's not their fault that they had been out the whole day to finish the bentos so they really do not know what was happening… but damn! What perfect timing!

"Uh… Colonel Rossi…" Lydia started as she slowly bent down to retrieve the sticks, only to have the others slip from her arms.

Ping grimaced inwardly while Erica and Miondy helped Lydia. Wufei, on the other hand, was wondering how Rossi acquired the name Ping… He never really noticed it before, though he was aware of her full name.

"I know, Whitten. You finished the bentos." How she was able to say that without screaming, she had no clue. Her team finally had everything in order and faced her once again while Wufei crossed his arms over his chest.

"We… we just wanted to see if you think that these were good enough… Colonel Rossi." Miondy walked a few steps forward and stopped between Ping and Wufei.

"Why don't you let Commander Chang take a look at it?" The sarcastic comment left her lips before she could stop it. Her eyes widened but Miondy had already taken heed her suggestion and was now facing Wufei.

Wufei stopped his train of thoughts then looked at the sticks and picked one out. He knew that she didn't really mean for anyone to hear what she had said, but everyone did hear. Her sarcastic tone couldn't make his victory wan, though. "Coarse…" He noticed the different width and sizes to accommodate everyone before he picked one up then held it out in front of him, critically eyeing it. "Light and balanced." He placed the stick back on Miondy's bundle. "It's useable."

Ping was sure she saw a hint of interest in those bleak, black eyes when the bento sticks came in… And she's usually not wrong when it comes to reading people… So, why not invite him along?  

The sweet taste of revenge sent her careening back to life and Wufei, who happened to glance at her direction for no reason, saw a dangerously wide smile… Her green eyes held a look of… hidden mischief? But ever competitive, as his nature was, he placed it aside. 'Bring it on…'

"Commander Chang…" Ping started as she tilted her head just an inch to give a haughty look. "I'm sure you will _honor_ us with a quick demonstration at our monthly practice, tomorrow."

Wufei frowned and was about to counterattack with some witty reply that he has yet to come up with, but she spoke again. 

"We will provide your bento, and just so you wouldn't feel embarrassed in front of so many people, I will pair with you." She looked at Josh. "The whole Preventer's platoon are invited. Refreshments and entertainment are on the house." Ping gave a cursory glance at Wufei's direction and saw him steaming. 'Oh… yes…'

Wufei's eyes were like thin arcs… One could almost not see them with the way they were dangerously narrowed. She was asking for it… bad. Fine… He'll play her childish game. "When and where, Colonel Rossi?"

**…**

He could feel the excitement emitting from his men as they stood in front of him. The sparkle in their eyes and the different straightness of their backs, not to mention that he could smell the distinct scent of aftershave colognes…

"The usual rules will be followed. Understood?!"

Wufei saw a slight droop from his men and he nearly smiled. The anticipation was still there… and he's got to be on his guard… "Move out!"

**…**

"Is everything ready?" Ping's voice shouted as she clapped her hands. She looked around the teams and waited until each one gave their ok signal. 

Food was easy to find. Right now, the fruits and games they acquired, plus the provisions in their supply tent, was beautifully arranged on top of overlapped, gigantic banana leaves on the ground. It looked like a picnic. 

Entertainment was also easy to do so her troops weren't really mad at her sudden decision… they were actually excited! For the first time since they left the IA compound in Central Asia, they looked as if in uniform. Everyone was wearing camouflage, makeshift shorts and white shirts, attractively decorated with a knot just slightly above their navel, and exotic flowers adorned their hair. The thick green grass was like the finest carpet, so they didn't bother to wear their boots. Besides, they've already checked for sharp objects around the area three days before.

The sun was well overhead when Ping glanced westward, where the Preventer's camp was. And sure enough-

"Here comes the cavalry…" A slow smile lighted her face while her troops filed in.

**…**

His lips pursed and a dark scowl appeared on his face as he caught sight of the place. It looked like… Trouble.

"This is going be a long… day…" Wufei muttered to himself as he forced his feet not to falter when the lines of women appeared in view… and right in the middle- Ping Galeana Rossi. 

He stopped just a meter away from Rossi, the humid weather causing him to sweat profusely. 

"Commander Chang… Preventers. Welcome."

Wufei just grunted. What could he say?! He doesn't want to be here?

Ping smiled wider. "My team started a tradition, a year ago, to leave one day of the month to something akin to the Alliance Goodwill Games. It was a day to relieve our frustrations, stress, and to show one's skills through physical workouts."

Wufei's eyebrow shot up. Not once had he seen these girls get up early and jog around their compound… Not once did he ever see them do exercise… How do they expect to do this?

"We usually have two teams, but through unanimous consent, my troop wished to change the rules today."

Wufei frowned. He just walked into a trap… He could feel it.

Ping's smile shone like the blinding sun. "They would like to have an Intelligence Alliance versus Preventers game."

A trap. 'I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!' And yet, he still went ahead to get caught… His men heard the challenge. He could already feel their surprised looks. Too bad- "We don't fight women."

Ping's smile nearly disappeared, but she caught herself. "This is not a challenge or a fight. There are no winners or losers. This is just a… demonstration…"

Wufei gritted his teeth… 'Demonstration my ass.'

Ping walked closer to Wufei, and in a low voice, just for them to hear, she gave her delivering blow. "Unless of course if… you're afraid your men might lose…" She pushed the right button… She knew it the moment his charcoal eyes glinted. 

He was so used to doing things his way… alone. If he were alone, he'd just leave her. Sure, he has a team with him every now and then for Relena's sake, but not like this… not a platoon under his command until a mission is over. This was different from solo missions or one-day surveillance… and he wasn't sure what to do… For the first time in his life, he turned around and faced his men to ask… their opinion. "Well?"

For a moment nobody moved, too surprised with their commander's question, then, one by one, they nodded. Wufei felt a surge of excitement. He turned, and a smirk played on his lips as he met Rossi's proud smile, then he nodded.

She let the warm feeling of satisfaction course through her veins. "We will start with food, then entertainment, and finally, the demonstrations."

**…**

'It was wrong for those women to dance like that in front of the men.' The thought left Wufei grimacing as he stared at the 'demonstration' in front. It was just plain wrong. The dance was a cross between a hula, interpretative dance, and… well… whatever. He couldn't blame his men for drooling… and then after they offered and seduced, Rossi announced the game. Now, an hour later, they were down to the last subordinates.

Fine. So his men lost the first two battles because they were a bit… dare he say it? Overconfident and they misjudged the women's strengths- not to mention that they were still in their fantasies somewhere… But they also won here and there… Right now they were tied and Hackett was in the circle with that Asian looking girl.

He had her pinned and Wufei found himself mentally rooting for the man.

Inside the circle, Rene was half glad that his commander couldn't see his face. "I'm sorry."

Christine smiled sweetly as she brought her knee up, shifted her weight and had Rene pinned on his back before he knew it. "Nah… I don't hurt easily." She noticed another white flag on her side. "Another point for me."

Ping clapped her hands and half the crowd groaned while the other half cheered. 

"Time's up!" 

Christine and Rene slowly moved away from each other, shook hands then went back to their sides of the table. She was given a winner's welcome while Rene was given pats on the back and silent, but cheerful consolation.

Wufei checked his troop once again, then Rossi's. Nobody had been hurt throughout the five minute 'demonstrations.' Probably some bruises by tomorrow, but other than that, no broken bones and no actual physical contact. They stopped their blows before it touched the bodies… The rules were that simple. Also, not stopping anytime, except when down, within the allotted five minutes for the kids, and ten minutes for the commanding officers. Now, it's time for-

Anticipating charcoal eyes met headstrong green and then she nodded. The signal.

"Do you wish to use the bento, Commander Chang?" 

The chatter died down at Ping's question.

Wufei just grunted as he nodded.  It seemed that she wouldn't give him any other choice. 

The same girl who had dropped the sticks the previous night walked between them and Ping quickly chose her bento. Wufei eyed them carefully, took his time before he selected and by the time he looked up, Ping was already inside the circle with an impatient look on her face.

'Why the heck am I doing this?!' The thought occurred as he stepped within the stone lining. Something flashed in front of his eyes. Memories… Merian with a broomstick and doing her forms under the soft glow of moonlight…

"Commander Chang? Shall we begin?" Patience, she tried to tell herself, but she couldn't wait!

He doesn't know how well she thought herself skilled with this weaponry, nor did she know how confident he was of his expertise. He wouldn't hurt her… No. He'll just bruise her ego… Yes…

They bowed then began. Ping's hands clutched the wood that fit in her palm, with her arms bent and eyes narrowed.  Wufei only brought the wood in front of his face, perpendicular to the ground. Simple, but his feet were already in position for attack, defense, or retreat- that he will not do.

She knew, somehow, that he would not be the first to strike, probably because of what he said about not fighting women? So, even before he chose his bento, she had already decided to start it off… Funny. She's unusually calm.

"HA!" She attacked him and he stopped her, just as she knew he would. So they played.

Wufei's eyebrow rose. She was certainly aggressive. Mentally, he checked his distance from the stones and found himself too close for comfort. Without thinking, he stopped one more of her attack, brought her stick down, then the next thing everyone knew, he had gracefully jumped over Ping's head.

Confused and surprised, Ping suddenly felt her feet swept from under her and she found herself facing the clear blue sky. 

Mischievously, he leaned down and gave her an innocent look. "Already down, Colonel Rossi?"

Anger fueled her as she quickly jumped up and faced the smirking Wufei.  She'll make this up to him.

Their bentos clunked with each encounter. Wufei found an opening and he couldn't stop himself as he went for it. He didn't even see Ping's smile as she anticipated his move, sidestepped just as he was near and then closed her arm and hand over his bento to secure it against her hip while her own swung and stopped just a breath away from the nape of his neck.

"Aren't you happy that these are sticks instead of swords, Commander Chang?"

Wufei mentally cursed as he tried to move his bento… but he knew her move well enough. It was one of the oldest tricks… and he fell for it. Damn her.

With a low chuckle, just for him to hear, she let his stick go.

He assessed her stance quickly, expertly. Judged the stormy green eyes and clamped small chin, and saw that she was ready for him… Ready that was unlike… any he had ever seen in a woman. She had the aura of someone to be reckoned with… of a fighter, like himself. Merian, too, was a fighter… but she had always thought and teased him to be soft and feeble. The woman in front of him knew his strength, age, and skill but was ready to face it. The thought left him inspired. Excited. 

When their bentos locked, Ping frowned at the interest in his eyes. Something had changed, and the realization that he finally accepted her as- at least- near to his equal, seeped through her anger. She smiled, not at all like the previous, calculated smile full of hate and ice, but this time, that of appeal. "Shall we give them something to talk about, Commander?"

Wufei nearly grinned like an idiot. Oh he'd like that. "If you're up to it, Colonel."

They fought now, as warriors should. With grace, skill, and passion. With interest at how each other would block, defend, and attack… coupled with the desire to win.

He was on the attack and she was ready to block when the well-walked upon grass, already mushy and gooey, made her slip. A gasp left her lips. Wufei himself was surprised at the sudden fall.

A bit groggy, Ping scissored her legs and caught him unawares. Wufei tried to catch his balance. Instead, he fell on top of her.

Ping's breath was snuffed from her lungs in a swoosh. "Geeze! You're heavy!"

Wufei glared down at her. "This is your fault." He hates it when he loses his balance!

With a grunt, Ping surprised him and Wufei found himself under her, bento against his neck. "There. That's better." She likes this position.

Her inner thigh was against his cheek. His upper torso, secured under her legs… and if he looked down from her face, he would be in direct contact with her… uh…  Something bubbled in him… a thrill that made him angry and… afraid at the same time.

He moved quickly and she found herself under him, once again. This time, slightly ready for his weight, she found it… nice… 

How come he never noticed that she had a sprinkle of freckles over the bridge of her little nose?

His bento was in the same position she had on him a little while ago- against her neck. Thinking quickly, she lifted her free hand, and then pushed her weight. This time, they rolled on the grass, their bentos in an aggressive x between each other while their legs tangled suggestively. It was starting to be like… playing-

"CHANG!"

"PING GALEANA ROSSI!"

The two stopped in mid-roll at the all too familiar voices of… Lady Une and William McGregor…


	41. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 5

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Five**

** by Heartfire**

*******

On their sides, the two slowly turned to the direction of the voices. Sure enough, their ears hadn't deceived them. Lady Une and Mr. McGregor were standing just a few steps away from them, with the same look on their face- that of disbelief and controlled anger.

Ping and Wufei slowly moved away from each other then stood in front of the two angry, older people. Wufei met Une's eyes levelly, just as Ping did with McGregor.

"I thought that your frequent complaint over the radio was only due to your personality, Chang. I did not take it seriously. Until now…" Une left her sentence hanging, knowing that Wufei would be able to understand. It had surprised her that William knew where they were… that he could track… but what surprised her more was the sight that greeted them when they finally saw the two troops.

'When you saw me fighting her.' Wufei finished in his mind. Une's usually calm eyes held that of anger.

"And you. I can't believe you did this, Ping." McGregor started as he looked around. He knew this girl well enough. Knew how she operates, her tactics… her cunning when she wants something.

Ping tried for innocence. "Sir. You know of our monthly tradition. We only invited Commander Chang and his team. There is nothing wrong with that."

William's piercing eyes, along with that arced right eyebrow nearly made Ping bite her lower lip. 

"I know you too well, Ping." All too well…

"If you did… why did you send the Preventers to baby sit us?" The initial anger she thought she had overcome, raged within her again. "I am fit for this mission. I deserved it and won it fair and square."

For a moment, Une and Wufei forgot their own staring game as they checked what was happening between the two. There was an underlying tension between the two IA's… 

William silently sighed. He thought that he was sending her off to a safe mission… but with confusing satellite discrepancies around this area… "You were given a mission with a slight change. You will do as ordered."

He was pulling ranks on her… Ping tilted her chin up and met his gaze. "I will do as commanded, Sir. I've never not done so." She faced a mulling Une and a slightly confused Wufei. "Excuse me." Without even a single glance to William, she turned and walked away as dignified as she could.

They watched as her troops made way for her. Hear her voice give a command that was lost in the wind, and then walked away.

Wufei felt the need to punch a hole through William. Then he shook himself and wondered the root of such a thought.

"Chang." Une started and he turned to her. "I've been to your camp.  This is supposed to be a team effort. I order you to move your tents with the IA, to mingle and work together."

He had learned a lot in these past years… and one of them was to accept the fact that Une would be giving him orders such as these. He accepted it but it doesn't mean he should be happy with it… Funny thing was… he wasn't all that mad with the command. He only grunted. 

"I will tell the platoon." Une turned then started to walk to the men standing in straight lines. By the time she was finished, they relaxed and started helping the women to clean up.

Wufei glanced at William, man to man. He could feel the man's protectiveness for Ping and it only irritated him some more. There was something that happened between the two, and he doesn't like it. With a curt nod, he left William to brood by himself.

Hours later, everyone was tired from the games, cleaning, and moving. It was a funny sight to see the women helping the men set up their tents within their compound… And now, with Une's order, his tent was beside Ping's…  Where she was, nobody knew… or if her troops knew, they were not telling. 

She was still missing when Une and William boarded the IA helicopter and lifted off…

From above, William leaned over and checked their handiwork. A glint of gold caught his eyes… Just east of the camp, with a thick strip of trees as a barrier, Ping sat beside the small river that curved around the land.

Une hesitated then placed her hand on his shoulder.

It was a comfort and William turned to her with tired eyes on his weather beaten face. The usual, ruggedly, bartender, handsome face looked as if he hadn't slept for weeks. He didn't know why, but his secret tumbled from his lips. "She's my niece… I didn't know that her parents died during the war… everything was just happening too fast.  After the war, I visited and only found her…" A proud smile lifted the corners of his lips. "She was doing well, taking care of herself and some orphans. I took them in… I love her like my own."

Une thought of Mariemaia and understood. "They grow up too fast."

William nodded. Gently, he took Une's hand from his shoulder, thankful for her comfort, and then brushed a kiss on her knuckles. "Thank you."

She nearly stuttered. He had taken her by surprise… She hadn't expected him to kiss her… hand… "You're welcome." She pulled her hand away and securely folded them upon her lap, confused, while William reprimanded himself for his breach of propriety.

**…**

Wufei made excuses as he followed her tracks… Everyone was asleep, aside from the two guards, one from his troop, and the other from Ping's. It was a new moon's eve. The stars dominated the skies above like precious jewels while cold night air touched skin like Death.

He found her, sitting by the banks of the river, just staring at the rushing water. He debated whether to walk to her or just leave her be, but at that moment, she turned her head and she saw him.

She didn't know why she turned… Probably because she was alone, in the middle of the night with who knows what kinds of animals were lurking behind? "Don't tell me you came here to check up on me."

The sarcasm in her voice hinted so much more. When did he ever become so attuned to other people's feelings? He snorted. "I was just out for a walk."

He was lying and she knew it… but it made her smile instead. "Fine… Don't let me stop you." She turned and faced the water once again to let the comfort of the night surround her.

Wufei didn't move. He didn't want to leave her alone out here… "I'm tired… I'm going to sit here for a while."

Ping shrugged. "Suit yourself."

For an answer, he grunted. He looked around and comforted himself with the base roots of a moss-covered tree.

They sat there in silence for God knew how long before her voice broke the stillness around them.

"Have you ever wondered how much you've changed but people around you still think you're the same?"

Wufei didn't answer. He wondered about that occasionally… He went through a total re-evaluation when Relena almost got shot by whoever that bastard was- he's still gonna kill that person when he finds out. What he felt that time had stunned him. 

She let his silence pass. "It's all so frustrating… You are the same… There is still that someone from the past inside you, but you've changed, and retained some things… The others only see that small portion of you that isn't you anymore… but part of a bigger you…" Why couldn't Uncle William accept that she'd grown up? That she was good and independent? She understands that he loves her, but how she wished he would let her go and live her life. She gave a frustrated growl. "I don't even know what I'm telling you."

He watched the way her hands moved. Frustrated, angry and then… the way it sunk back to her sides showed so much sadness. His dead mentor's words came back to haunt him. "Have you accepted that you've changed? One must first accept what one has become to attain inner peace… then external tranquility will slowly surface…"

His words of wisdom reached her and she leaned backwards to look at the velvety sky. "I've accepted that I've changed a long time ago…" Memories flashed in front of her eyes. Stray bullets that found a crowd… Her parents' death in front of her… Tears stung her eyes and she lowered her face as if by doing so, the images and pain would fade. "Maybe I grew up too fast for them to understand…"

"Too many children grew up too fast during war." He spoke softly. His body hidden within the shadows of the tree… Why was it that he's speaking like this? His own memories assailed him… He had grown up too quickly, also…

"Do you think… we'd ever get rid of them? Those painful memories…?" 

Wufei smiled softly as he shook his head. He could see everything clearly from his past, and now the woman in front of him. "It's a part of you… a bigger you… A part of what you've become… You will never get rid of them."

Their conversation had gone in a full circle… His answer lifted her soul for what reason? Truth? Because she was able to talk to someone? 

Wufei watched as she stood up and then faced him. Her wide eyes sparkled against her shadowed face and the outline of her blonde hair shimmered with moonlight. He wasn't even sure if she was smiling.

He was covered within the shadows… as if he wanted to hide this soft side she had talked to…  The thought flittered in her mind momentarily, and she knew it was the truth. He hides it… that's the way he is… Who he is…

Slowly, she walked to him. Her face became clearer as she neared. When she stopped in front of him and looked down, he saw a small, all too feminine smile that seemed to thank him. Then she dropped down beside him. He blinked in surprise as she settled near. Shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm… He felt uncomfortable.

He could feel her looking at him, and he forced himself not to meet her eyes.

She took in his form… That proud tilt of his head… the long, pony-tailed hair… Eyes that spoke of wisdom instead of the usual scorn. His small, thin lips were pressed together as if he's afraid to speak too much, and the way he was so tense, made her grin a bit. "You are one confusing man, Wufei Chang."

At that comment, Wufei turned to her. His frowning eyes met her smiling ones.

"But I think I like you just the way you are." She didn't know where those words came from… Probably because she started to remember a certain radio conversation between him and Ms. Dorlian… He was a man with a lot of layers… 

Wufei's jaw slackened. 'Wh-what?!' His mind cried out in surprise. He was just given a blow that left him winded.

Ping turned to face the river, finally letting sleep soak her mind… Without thinking, she dropped her head on Wufei's shoulder then closed her eyes. A ghost of a thought left her mind that whispered she hadn't leaned on anyone for such a long time…

Wufei's back was ramrod straight. What should he do? What could he do? Why did she do this? Ever so slowly, he turned to look at her…Tendrils of very curly blonde hair fell over her face. Its length was just two inches below her shoulders, but he'd seen them wet, and it reached the curve of her back… 

Wufei gulped. He quickly backed out of that thought and looked at the stream instead… but he found himself drawn to her closed eyes… her peaceful face… And then, his body relaxed.

**…**

She woke up feeling refreshed. It was still dark outside, but she couldn't wait to rally the troops and…  Her train of thought disappeared as she remembered last night… She looked down at her sleeping bag, and she didn't need a genius to realize that Wufei must have brought her back…  

'Who would have thought… Wufei has a soft spot…' The thought sent renewed excitement through her veins and she breezed through her usual morning habits then she walked out of her tent, only to stop dead in her tracks. Do tents mushroom up overnight?

'What in the world happened here?!' She walked into the center of the lot, turned, and frowned harder. 

"Good morning, Ma'am."

The male voice nearly made her shriek and at the same time, instinct rushed in to punch the living daylights out of him. She stopped when she faced a familiar looking man.

Her face must have been pale beyond compare because the man looked guilty.

"Sorry, ma'am. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No… You didn't scare me… Just surprised…" Slowly, the puzzle started to make sense, but she still wanted to hear some kind of explanation. "Why are you here?"

"Lady Une and Mr. McGregor ordered us to… mingle, ma'am." 

The young man's back was straight, his short crew cut hair, in dire need of a cut to tame it back down. Olive skinned and bright eyed… he looked like the one Lydia had fought against. 

"Where's my scout?"

A soft smile touched the man's face. Obviously, they hit it off. "She's asleep… We decided to change shift every 2 hours."

"Alright…" She just wanted to know if one of her troops was guarding because she feels safer that way. With some of her anxiety pushed aside, she asked for the critical question. "Is your commander still asleep?"

"Commander Chang?" A snort that was like laughter being stopped too late left him. "Sorry, ma'am."

Ping was slightly amused. "What's so funny?"

"Commander Chang is an early riser. I saw him walk to those trees back there a long time ago." He pointed at the place she was at the previous night. "He's probably doing his forms…"

"Thanks." She turned and took a couple of steps then stopped. "By the way," she glanced over her shoulder, inquiringly. "What's your name? Your first name?"

That friendly grin came over his face. "Travis, ma'am."

"Well, thank you, Travis. Get some sleep soon." She turned and started to walk, but she still heard his 'Yes, ma'am.' So… either Wufei was obsessed with martial arts, or he was just truly dedicated… not that she didn't do her own exercises… She's into the arts herself.

She reached the edge of the clump of trees and stopped just short from showing herself. The sky was still its navy blue… Crickets chirped the song of nature around her while the rushing, clear stream bubbled its hello… He was on the other side, where the grass was taller, wilder, and more dangerous. Does he want to get bitten by a snake? 

Ping leaned against a trunk as she observed. Interesting steps… She had never seen them before, and she does have quite an extensive knowledge when it comes to such. Graceful… Paced… Serene. It was as if he was doing everything in slow motion… Just the type of technique that she liked… His eyes were closed, a line between his eyebrows that clearly showed his deep concentration.

She wasn't able to check the time when she woke up, so she didn't know how long she had stood there, just watching him… The first rays of light reached out to them from behind the mountains. Nature's wonderful show of colors erupted in the skies and that was when Wufei finally stopped, bowed, and… stripped.

Ping's tongue peeked from between her lips to moisten their sudden dryness. Her eyes took in his wonderful physique. Any woman with a sense of sight wouldn't be able to not nod their approval. Of course, he only took off his shirt, but his pants hung low on his waist, and that straight, long hair, confined in a band at the nape of his neck, only added to his beauty. She could almost feel herself drool… and wonder how he would look like… naked…

She quickly shook her head and made an excuse. It's only fair for her to see him in such a disposition because he already saw her naked, right?! With a huff, more because of her wayward thoughts, she walked out of the shadows. 

"Commander Chang!"

Wufei turned at the sound of her voice and saw the petite blonde, smiling, waving her hand and walking towards him. For a moment's insanity, he felt like grinning. But he caught himself quickly and just nodded curtly at her direction while he waited for her to reach him. Yesterday didn't change anything. Last night didn't change anything. And right now, he must finish his stretching exercises. 

She felt slightly irritated that he didn't even meet her halfway, but she was still grateful about last night so, she let it go. She stopped just a feet away from him when he dropped down on the ground and started doing push ups. "Hey Commander."

Wufei gave her a quick, questioning look.

Her anger was stroked when he didn't answer her second call, but she's here with a mission and do it, she will. "I wanted to thank you for last night."

Wufei just grunted as he forced another smile not to show. He suddenly felt…very… good.

"I mean…" She breathed in deeply. It was hard to show gratitude when one is not being given a single notice! "You talked to me and saw me to bed safely. So… thanks."

He huffed as his answer only because he stopped the 'You're welcome' that almost left his lips.

She looked down at his well-muscled back… how it strained and relaxed with every up and down motion that seemed like a hypnotic movement… Ping cleared her throat and looked away. "I noticed that you've changed location."

No answer. He doesn't want to answer.

She tried again. "Orders from the superior?" 

A sound that was between an 'ungh' and an 'uh huh' was all she received. He doesn't like people saying that to him. Actually, even if his superior were a man, he would still probably be angry. There was that something in him that just doesn't want to be ordered around.

Undaunted, she still tried. "I guess this means we'll be working together. Right?" She received a new sound, not unlike the previous one. Her patience broke but she struggled to keep her control.

"How about if we check where you've been and I'll show you what we have?"

Wufei shrugged as best as he could while he was in mid-push up and gave another grunt for an answer. He doesn't really care. His eyes seemed intent on climbing up those bare feet and onto tanned legs…

A frustrated growl from deep in his throat left him and reached Ping's ears. She threw control to the wind and the next thing Wufei knew, he was eating grass and soil. He quickly stood up, sputtering what was left in his mouth while he glared at the spitfire lady in front of him.

"Dammit!" He's not going to get into a staring contest with her right now because he wants to get that taste of soil out of his mouth! He quickly walked to the stream, half aware that she followed, and pushed his face into its cold, rushing waters. When he finally pulled his head out of the water to glare at her and to demand for an apology, she started shouting.

"I'll ask one of your men to bring soap to you so you can wash your mouth!"

"You are really beginning to irritate-"

"You know, talk to me when it's the middle of the night." She cut him off and she knew she shouldn't have with the way his opal eyes glittered dangerously. But she didn't care. "It seems that your rudimentary conversation skills works best at that time." She turned away from him and was about to cross the river when his hand clamped around her arm.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Somewhere at the back of his mind, a small voice complained about this being a great way to start a day.

"My problem is that I was pouring my gratitude about your gentlemanly manners to me last night on your sweaty back and the only responses I got were-" She imitated the snorts, low growls, and whatever else they call it, perfectly. 

Wufei blinked. Did he just hear those being done by her? Against his will, his lips quirked and a rumble started to erupt deep in his chest.

Ping crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"

He couldn't hold it back… He attempted to, God knows he did, but he couldn't. His face had turned lobster red with trying, and Ping's very narrowed eyes showed him that she was not at all happy with his reaction. That observation was what sent him careening over his usual stoic control. His hands went around his stomach and his head lifted high in the air as he laughed his head off.

"Take heed, Commander. You're laughing at your own choice of vocabulary." Ping muttered from under her breath as she tried to steel herself from joining him. His laughter had those darn carefree and warm characteristics she never expected to see from him. It was just tempting her to join him in his tirade, and at the same time, punch the heck out of him! "I've got things to do." 

She abruptly turned and was about to leap over that strip of stream when a hand went around her upper right arm, forcing her to stop. Ping whipped around and saw Wufei's still quirking lips.

He couldn't believe that he had actually laughed like that… Sure, he laughs, but… not like that. There had only been rare moments, since his adulthood, that he could remember such instances when he had felt so… light. And it was all because of this woman in front of him. Did she even know what she did? Then again… he wasn't an open man. "I'm finished."

"With what? Laughing your heart out or doing your exercises?" Ping pulled her arm away.

Wufei let go though he hadn't wanted to. He's finally reigned in control and had his usual sourly, serious face. "Both."

"Oh?" Ping made a sound near to a frustrated growl. "So now, since the high and mighty commander is finished, he's finally going to give his attention to the lowly colonel."

"You are really starting to irritate me." Wufei tried to count to ten the way he had often saw Relena do so when she was so near to anger.

"Oh dear. I'm so scared." 

Her facial expression only aggravated him some more. He knew she came by to thank him, and she was saying something else while he was basting on her gratitude as he did his work outs, but what was it? "What was it that you wanted, anyway?"

Ping crossed her arms over her chest, not realizing that it only enhanced them. "Right now, all I want is your apology."

Wufei blinked. "For what?!"

His bellow didn't scare her. She'd been through worse. "I want your apology for your ungrateful behavior just a little while ago." 

She stood in front of him with her feet planted on the ground, not about to back away until she wrenched out that apology… But that he will not give it! "My apology?! You were the one who pushed my face to the ground! You were the one who disturbed me and you want MY apology?!"

Ping faltered. All right, so it did give her a pleasant feeling when she stepped on his head and he ate dirt- literally… but it was a bit ungraceful of her… Then again, she will not apologize. She has her pride. Of course, the plain and simple fact that they do need to start working together was making her… feel responsible. "Maybe I was a bit hasty with the way I acted, but you certainly asked for it."

He knew a middle ground when he saw one. Being with Relena all these years, well… "And maybe I should have given you more attention…" He saw the fire in her clear, green eyes slowly die and he couldn't help himself as he added- "Even though you shouldn't have disturbed me."

That dying green flame erupted again. Ping bit her inner cheek as she willed for control. This was probably as close to his apology as any… She will not lead her troop into jeopardy because of this man… She repeated that sentence over and over again in her mind until she was able to clear any murderous thoughts then smiled sweetly at Wufei. "I like to disturb people." The moment those words left her lips, she flipped her hair over her shoulder then turned and skipped over the stream.

Wufei blinked a couple of times. Her smile made his stomach dip again! And dammit! He was most certainly disturbed! 'You're doing a damn good job.' Wufei shook the thoughts out of his mind and turned to look at her, waiting for him on the other side of the stream where the grass was shorter and less wild. At that moment, a soft breeze picked up tendrils of her very curly hair.

"Well?" Ping asked as she tapped her bare foot. 

"Well what?" Wufei barked back. What does that onna want, now?!

Ping's hand slapped her forehead as she looked at Wufei as though he didn't know anything. "Everyone is probably awake in the camp waiting for our orders! We need to plan it out and if we walk in camp together, it would probably put them at ease if we work together!"

'Oh?' Wufei frowned, more at himself than at her. He didn't think of it that way. "I knew that!" He turned away to walk back where he dropped his shirt, and the winds sighed in relief that he didn't see Ping roll her eyes.

She followed his every move. Looked appreciatively when he bent over and his loose, white pants etched his cute, pinch-able, firm behind. Her tongue licked her suddenly dry lips once again.  Seeing that view almost made everything worthwhile… Almost.

Wufei stood up, turned, and saw an all too innocent look on Ping's face… It was as if she had just done some mischief he was not aware of… And it was tempting him to kiss her. Wufei shook his head and cursed as he pulled his shirt over his head. 

"Well?! Are you going to make me wait any longer, slowpoke?!"

"Keep your shirt on, onna!" Wufei growled back as he walked back to her, jumped over the stream and finally got an approving nod from her. With a meaningful look towards each other, they set off for camp.

**…**

His mood didn't improve when he checked his records with hers. They spent so many weeks scouting around areas her team had already checked! If he wasn't so narrow minded… Of course, that logical thought hadn't entered his angry hazed mind, yet.

"So we'll take the eastern side, and you take the western then just rendezvous back here by six." Ping finalized as she finished mapping out their course.

 "We'll take the eastern side." Wufei grumbled as he took his map.

Ping sighed as she focused on control. He's been biting her head off every chance he got. "Whatever." She's not going to get into an argument with him when both their troops are outside. It just won't promote teamwork. They'd argue later. 

Maps in hand, the two walked out of the tent at the same time and faced their expecting troops.

"Let's go."

"MOVE OUT!"


	42. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 6

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Six**

** by Heartfire**

*******

{Heartfire's note: Potassium Warning: For anyone who loves to eat banana, or simply eats bananas, this chapter might not be to your best liking. You might want to skip some chapters.}

Two weeks in the same camp have turned his men into heart-shape eyed mush ready to lift tent flaps to small rocks at the women's request. Then again-

Wilmore snapped in attention as Wufei passed him.

His men were still the obedient, albeit surprisingly more energized during their workouts. Maybe living with the women community does have its accompanying ups, and downs. 'Hmm…'

He must admit, the women's team does make a satisfying sweep of their assigned land. He should know, he combed half of what they did months ago and found nothing, just like they said.

One of the women he passed gave him a salute. 'Dawn.' At least, he thinks that's her name. Everyone was on a first name basis except for him and Ping and everyone else to him. It was causing him to feel a bit… left out… 

'Wonder what she's doing right now…' He found himself thinking about the woman he's about to see in a few more minutes. He'd seen her sweaty, muddy, and even oily when the IA had accidentally found a pit of oil. Though how the Colonel got in it was a mystery. Every night, when they finally rendezvous, she always has a smile on her face, joked around with both men and women over the fireplace, and was ever patient during their nightly meetings to discuss whatever they found… He knew she was being patient. The mere fact that he'd been disagreeable- worked hard on being one- and she had never even snapped back at him was already a complete surprise. Especially knowing her combustibility rate.

Now, he's about to see that silent, patient face with a-bit-of sunburned nose upon that sprinkle of barely there freckles… Wufei shook his head. Where are those thoughts coming from?!

He stopped in front of her tent and wondered what she was thinking of at that moment. Wufei closed his eyes in irritation and an image of a bare, curving back filled his mind. He opened his eyes quickly. It had been weeks since he last remembered her like that! Okay… maybe not weeks, but still! 

'Okay… Alright, Chang… Don't get your nerves all worked up because of this…' He breathed in deeply while he tried to understand that confusing stir in his stomach. 'She is an attractive woman. You saw her naked… there's nothing wrong with a little appreciation on your part… it's only normal…' Wufei gritted his teeth and mentally cursed. The thing was… it _wasn't_ normal. Chang Wufei might have looked at women, passed an imaginary thought or two about them, but then, after that, they were out of his mind. He couldn't even remember those images! Why was it that he couldn't get this one out of his mind?!

"Commander Chang?" 

The voice that spoke behind him nearly made him stumble in surprise. How long had he stood in front of Rossi's tent? Slowly, Wufei turned and faced… Christine… Yes, he's sure that's her name. He wished he could call her by her last name and position, though. "What is it?"

Christine bit her lower lip, that everlasting frown on Wufei's forehead already telling her to run for it. "Are you looking for Colonel Rossi?"

Wufei grunted and Christine took that as a yes. She cleared her throat and thanked the Gods up there that she didn't waver. "She's in tent 5, sir. She's using her fifteen minutes on the WARC."

"Fifteen minutes?" Wufei's frown became more pronounced. What did she mean?

She did an inaudible gulp before she talked. "We're allowed to use the WARC for 15 minutes a month, sir. She thought it would help with our morale." Suddenly, she remembered something Ping said nearly two weeks ago… "I thought she extended that privilege to you and your team as well, sir?"

Wufei remembered that night two days after the 'games'. She did say something about it but he was… too distracted. His back straightened. "I'll go and check on her." 

Christine nearly flinched at the snap. "Yes sir." She tried to gather in more of her courage and silently praised her friend and commander for putting up with this man. "Dinner will be served in a little while…"

Wufei nodded, turned, and walked on to tent five to demand for their meeting. He stopped, just as he had done so outside her tent, and found himself wondering what he would say. 

"Nat! Hey! I miss you so much!"

Rossi's excited voice reminded him of a kid about to get a cotton candy in a circus… a memory… something he saw when Relena gave a speech at one of Trowa's circus friends' performance for charity… a memory that reminded him of something in his own colony…

"Hey, beautiful! How have you been?"

Wufei suddenly felt his temperature rise, and it had nothing to do with heat, either… Who's this Nat guy?! 

"Where's Lauren?"

He felt his anger cool a bit as knowledge that she wouldn't be talking to that guy seeped. His curiosity, and something else, was pricked.

"I'll go call her for you."

Wufei checked how far away that log on the tent's side was, walked to it and started to listen.

**…**

 Ping waited for her childhood friend to show up and when the brown-eyed beauty finally did, she flashed her smile and nearly hugged the screen while she said her greetings.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure you do." Lauren's sarcastic tone suddenly made her homesick. "What do you want, Ping? I have a class to teach in ten minutes."

The twinkle in Lauren's eyes belied her bored face and Ping nearly laughed. She had missed her friend. She should have called her before but life had been busy. "I'm sorry. I meant to call before I left."

"Yeah, yeah. Excuses." Lauren made a face as she pushed a lock of brown hair away from her face with the back of her hand, holding something akin to a clear, rubber balloon. "Everything all right though?"

Ping nodded then looked down at the bruises on her hands. She had just finished her nightly date with Erica's punching bag to let off steam before she faced her adversary. She finished early tonight, so she thought she'd give her friend a call… She needed to hear her soothing voice so hard. Why was her feelings so convoluted with anger, anyway? Anger she never truly had any trouble controlling before, but with this man- one word, AAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

"Hey, minxie…" Lauren's pouty face became that of concern. "Why the frown?"

"Nothing." A sigh escaped her lips as she dropped her left elbow on the table and propped her chin on her palm. She will not give her friend something to worry about. The noise outside filtered in the tent and she smiled a little bit. Her team and the Preventers were getting along fine… It's just the commander and herself who were having problems.

"You sure? You're in… India, right?" Lauren saw her friend nod and could tell that she was still bothered. "How's that part the government is trying to clean up? Is it fine? You think it's livable again?"

Ping grinned as she thought of the beautiful meadows she had seen… Of the winding rivers, some man made, others natural, clear and sparkling. "I'm in it right now and it's beautiful… I'd say that the government outdid themselves on this one. The waters are drinkable, and there are all types of plants that you wouldn't see thriving in this part of Asia years ago! It's just too bad that an epidemic had to start it all off…" 

Ping grimaced as she remembered news clippings when she just started her IA training. The grounds were burned with thousands of bodies in it… Almost two thirds of India was declared off limits until the final stages of cleansing, and then years and years of importing soil, plants, and installing pipes with filters for rivers and streams…. then the animals… an extensive project. The government was still very cautious of the land, and protective. No wonder.

"Ack!!! You're there?!" 

Ping could understand Lauren's excitement. Her friend loves to travel. She chuckled as Lauren's face drew nearer to her own monitor. The rubber balloon and banana she clutched on both hands were so near that it took only a second for Ping to remember where she'd seen one of those _balloons_ before…

"Lauren…" Ping eyed the items in her friend's hands cautiously. "Why do you have a banana and a _condom_ in your hands?"

"They're props for my next class."

"Props?" Ping's eyebrow shot up, still confused. "Please explain."

Lauren bit her lower lip then shook her head, knowing how her friend loves fruits. "No… you wouldn't like it anymore if I tell you."

Now, her curiosity got the better of her. "C'mon! Tell me, please?" 

Never one for arguments, Lauren shrugged. "Well, we practice putting condoms on bananas." 

Ping blinked, unable to comprehend, and then she started laughing. Lauren was always the one for a good laugh! "You're pulling my leg… Why would you want to do that?!"

"I see that you want to know the disgusting part… Now don't blame me if you never look at a banana the same way again!"

Ping smiled as her chest rocked with controlled laughter. "Shoot away! I don't think I'd ever stop eating a banana- especially that one tiny banana I had in East Asia… I think it was called senyorita… and then this concoction they had called maruya, or something."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "You're always thinking about food! Okay, fine. I'll tell you. Just don't say I never warned you!"

"Well, I just don't see why it has to be a banana! Why can't it be a radish, or a carrot, or an eggplant?"

Lauren gave a sigh. "A banana resembles a phallus more, especially when it is aroused."

From outside, Wufei's eyes widened. Now _that_ was a surprise… He never really thought of it that way! He was a bit embarrassed and angered that those two were talking so lightly about a subject like that! Suddenly, rich laughter reached Wufei's ears.

Ping broke in uncontrollable spasms of laughter. Her hands clutched at her stomach as she continued to laugh for God knew how long! Lauren, on the screen could hardly keep her mouth from smiling at her friend's reaction. "Y-y-you k-k-know what's m-m-mak-king me laugh so ha-hard…?"  Her mind was running off!!! She couldn't believe she just had that thought in her mind but it was so good that she had to tell her friend!

"Oh please… enlighten me." Lauren leaned forward conspiringly, thinking that nothing her friend could say would be able to shake her. She'd been in and out of emergency rooms, seen too many naked bodies, and had her share of troubles.

In between laughter, Ping tried. "I know what you mean about not wanting to look at a banana the same way… but I'm thinking of… of… wh-wha-what's gonna happen… t-t-to me… ch-cho-choke because of laughter when I _BITE _into a banana." Ping fell off her chair and rolled on the ground as she curled up. Her stomach was aching so much!

Lauren, on the screen, had her jaw on the table before she herself fell down in laughter!

Outside, Wufei's jaw had hit the ground in- he wasn't sure if it was disgust, surprise, or… awareness. His damn body was certainly giving his suddenly malicious mind a bad image- regarding that of a… banana and a certain someone…

"Oh my God! I did not expect that!!!" Lauren's voice spoke over the speakers as Ping hiccupped and tried to gulp in air.

The bad thing was, her mind kept on giving her these ideas! "Lauren… Since people eat banana, does that mean they're already practicing for…" Another set of laughter finished off her sentence…

Lauren's peal of laughter told her she got it. "That implication is so bad!!! Where are you getting these ideas?!" Celibate Ping with these sexual ideas?! What's happening to her friend?!

"I-I don't know!" Ping hiccupped as she tried to crawl back onto the chair with her aching stomach. "I've been insane lately…" She had been. 

"If anyone ever finds out about this conversation…" Lauren couldn't finish because of laughter.

Ping's eyes widened as another idea set her through another spasmodic laughter. "If I see a person biting into a banana, it'll be too soon! I'm gonna be snorting in laughter!"  Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh my God!!! What if it's a guy!!!?"

Lauren's brown eyes clashed with hers for a fraction of a second and then they were both on the ground- suffering with lack of air from mirth.

"I don't need that image!!! I have a class!!! Why do you always do this to me right before my classes?!"

Outside, that lone figure upon the tree trunk had turned red… Neither did he! He did not want that image! He couldn't imagine… How could she think… God! He couldn't believe what he just heard!!! 

"My stomach's aching, Lauren!!!" Ping gasped as she tried to peek at the visual. She was glad her friend was as red as she from hilarity. 

"Ping… Everyone here thinks I've gone loco… You are so gonna pay for this when you get home."

Ping only nodded, too busy trying to catch her breath. She was sweating just as hard as she had when she was pouring her frustration on that poor punching bag.

"I…" Lauren hiccupped then chuckled. "I have to go… my class."

"Yeah… Don't _bite_ into any bananas now…" That good bye sent the two in another fit of laughter as they signed off. She needed a good laugh… She had been so drained that talking to Lauren, even if they hadn't gone through this whole 'banana' thing was just like water to a thirsty person. She lay on the ground, satisfied and with the knowledge that would keep her smiling for the days to come- bananas. Her body rocked once again and she laughed.

Wufei, shaken by the vulgar conversation between two women, was finally able to dislodge himself from the log… For a moment, he didn't know where to go… Then, he just let his feet do the walking and he nearly bumped into one of his men, carrying something on his shoulders.

"Sir!"

Wufei just nodded, still shocked at what he had heard.

The soldier, wanting to try a friendly gesture with the commander, dropped the burden he was carrying, and offered one of it. "Would you like a banana, sir?" 

Wufei jerked, his eyes widening as he stared at the banana as though it were a snake about to bite him. "NO!" With a disgusted look at the fruit, he turned. He will not be able to go through dinner if there's going to be a banana on the table! "Tell Hackett to bring my dinner to my tent!"

"Y-y-yes sir…" His head nearly got bitten off! That's the last time he's gonna offer something to the Commander!

Inside his tent, Wufei forced himself to finish dinner. He could just imagine one of his men, and one of Ping's women, handing out dessert… When he heard Ping's burst of laughter, he knew what the dessert was… With a groan, he walked over to his sleeping bag and tried to drown out that merry sound of laughter. To think that he once thought her innocent!

"Women!"

**…**

He wasn't able to sleep. Not a single wink without seeing a banana flitter around like a sheep jumping over a fence… or a whole bunch of it running after him! Wufei shivered inwardly. Nightmares. Damn it all!

He must meditate… Concentrate… Try to block those gross thoughts out of his mind. It was dumb of him to stay there and listen to the conversation, but even when he had wanted to go, he seemed to have lost control over his locomotive skills and he couldn't move in shock.

With deep, calculated breaths, he finally started to feel at ease. On the first steps of his forms, he felt eyes on him… He checked, from the corner of his eyes, and sure enough, the reason for his sleepless night was there, walking out of the trees…

He waited for her greeting, but none came as she stopped just in front of the stream, sat down with that smile on her face and propped her chin on one of her knees while the other lay, bent on the grass. She wasn't wearing shoes again. Geeze!

Wufei did his steps and waited… Waited… and waited until- he twisted around to face her, irritated that she hadn't interrupted him yet. "Well?! Aren't you going to say anything?!"

Ping blinked in surprise. Now what's gotten him angry so early in the morning? The start of a wonderful new day? "Well… Good morning to you, too."

Wufei was taken aback by her smile, noticing how her unruly set of curls framed her face. "What?! That's it?! Aren't you going to come over here and talk then demand my attention?" Now why'd he say that?

Ping just shook her head. What's wrong with this man? Is he looking for a fight? "Nope. Sorry to disappoint you, Commander. The last time I did that, we nearly got into a bad fight and I don't feel like fighting." She leaned back and looked at him lazily. He looked utterly adorable with that pouty expression!!!

"Yeah?" Wufei crossed his arms over his chest, aware that he was being impossible. "And what does the Colonel feel like doing today?"

He was being sarcastic but she let it go. She had such a wonderful night talking to her friend, a beautiful sleep, and she just knew it was going to be a glorious day. "I feel like being friendly, Commander."

Once again, he was hit from the blind side. His hands nearly fell limply by his sides- not to mention that his jaw nearly fell on the ground. 

She tried to read the expression on his face then gave up and decided to wield her plan to be on Commander Chang's good side. He's an infuriating man with a smug smile but, she could be quite sure that he only does that to exert his command… maybe even protect himself from pain? Ahh… what one night of restful slumber does to the brain. "Commander Chang… I don't think I know the forms you were doing a little while ago, and I know I'm knowledgeable with martial arts."

Wufei worked his jaw and was a bit glad that he was able to talk. "It's mine." 

The growl didn't scare her. Rather, her eyes widened and excitement filled her eyes. It was his? "Really? It's beautiful!"

Now he feels like a heel… Not to mention, embarrassed. Was she complimenting him or his forms? Yeah… his forms.

"Would you mind if I try it along with you?" Ping asked as she stood up and rubbed the grass from her bottom and legs.

Wufei's right eyebrow rose in confusion. Try? Her? This? Should he let her? Instead of voicing his thoughts, he just snorted. "If you can keep up." 

 Ping grinned as she accepted the challenge. "You're on." She leaped over the spring and positioned herself south east of him, ready to follow, and… to admire his bare back…

His attention was divided between trying to concentrate and wondering what she was doing… Halfway through, he glanced at her and saw that she had a frown and was trying to concentrate. "Wrong." His eyes caught her mistake instantly.

"Huh?" Ping looked down at herself and tried to picture her mistake.

"If you're going to do this, at least do it right." His voice was like that of a frustrated teacher as he walked to her, dropped to one knee and held her foot to the right position, his finger lightly scraping against her instep.

Ping's eyes widened at the sudden zap that went through her while Wufei tried to understand why his hands felt like shaking. Trying to forget about it, his left hand moved to the back of her knee and pushed it to a bent stance. He had the sudden thought of rubbing that soft spot while Ping bit her lower lip and tried to keep her muscles relaxed. 

Wufei quickly stood up before he could be given another thought of kissing the back of her knee and hastily moved to his old position. He did not just think of that! No! He didn't!

She never even noticed that his actions became jerky and frustrated, so busy she was with trying to explain what was happening to her. She was so lost in thought that when she did the next step, she wasn't able to control her shout- "Ow!!!" She quickly jerked her foot from the ground and nearly fell in the process. Wufei quickly turned around and was instantly beside her, giving her support while she bent her leg to look at her foot.

"You're bleeding." Wufei noted as he stared at the underside of her foot.

"No duh, Einstein." Ping muttered at she pressed her hands on the wound to make it bleed some more. One cannot be sure if the object that pierced her could cause tetanus, or whatever other diseases.

"I told you to wear proper clothing! That includes boots!" Wufei muttered angrily as he saw her grimace.

"Well, sorry if I love the feel of nature under my feet!" Ping snapped back. How could she have thought that today was a glorious day?! If her wound gets infected… What if they have to amputate?! "Oh God, no!"

She had grown white, and, Wufei was quite sure, near to fainting. "You're not afraid of a little blood, are you?" The question came out in half awe. She couldn't be afraid of blood. 

"No! I'm not! My stupid brain is just giving me images of possible future amputation!" She barked back while she tried not to think about it and to move away from Wufei's warm, half embrace. But she couldn't move. He wouldn't let her…! Before she could ask why, she suddenly felt her breath leave her and she was lifted up. Her hands went from her foot to instinctively cling at his shoulders. When she finally realized that he had her in his arms, she quickly dropped her hands. "Wufei! What are you doing?"

"You're not going to limp back to camp. That wound will get more infected if you do so." Wufei answered, trying not to think of the possibility that he might actually… care for her. Did she just call him by his first name? "It's only logical."

She bit her lower lip. Yeah… logical… Darn, but the multitude of butterflies in her stomach wasn't, though! And he smelled… fresh…

He felt her nose bump against his chest, just near his left nipple and he tensed. 

"Do you take morning baths? You smell good." Ping asked, unable to resist another scent. What's happening to her?! Why does she suddenly feel giddy and lightheaded?

Wufei's eyes widened. She's smelling him?!

"Wufei. You're tense!" His muscles were firm and she could feel his apprehension! Was she the one doing that to him? She grinned merrily, liking that thought.

"I'm not!" Wufei muttered as he tried to relax. 

"Okay. If you say so…" Suddenly she realized something. "Whoops! I'm sorry! I've been using your first name, Commander"

And he liked the way it sounded, rolling off her tongue with that sweet, soft accent of hers. "Forget it."

"Okay…" Ping agreed as she tried another tactic when she felt him relax, just to test her theory. She snuggled in closer to his chest.

Wufei's lips formed a thin line as unexplainable awareness tumbled through him.

The moment she felt his muscles tighten, she bit back a victorious chuckle. Oh yes, she does… She does that to him… 'Maybe that's why he'd been so insufferable…' She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. 'And he _is_ attractive…'

They entered the camp and she saw her troops, and Wufei's, give them incredulous stares. By the time they reached her tent, Wufei turned around and saw everyone standing still. "Give me a first aid kit! Heat up some water! NOW!" 

At his bellow, everyone started to move. Wufei nodded to himself then entered her tent. He must to let go of her before he does something stupid… like kissing the hell out of her!

"Commander Chang… You can leave now. I mean… I can do it myself." Ping whispered as she was set down on her bag.

He wanted to be sarcastic, but what he said didn't sound like that at all, not to mention that he didn't want to say it. "Whatever happened to Wufei?"

Ping blushed. She was on a roller coaster of emotions with this man… First, victorious and powerful, now, inside the tent, vulnerable and shy… She was about to answer when he spoke for both of them.

"Forget it." He checked the wound again and gave her his usual scowl. That one, she knew how to handle. "Next time, wear your boots!"

Ping chewed on her lower lip while she tried to stop the sudden mushiness in her stomach. "I will…"

"Sir!" 

The voice outside the tent told him that the items he wanted were there. "Come in!"

Hackett came in, carrying a bowl of water, while Christine clutched the first aid kit in her hands.

Ping eyed the water. "That isn't the one for coffee… is it?"

"We'll make another batch, Colonel." Christine answered as she looked at her friend inquiringly. 

Ping only shook her head.

"Get the troops ready, both of you. This won't take long." Wufei muttered as he placed the bowl under her foot. He heard the tent flaps swish back before he faced her. "Ready?"

Ping nodded. She was ready for the heat… what she wasn't ready for was… Wufei's soft ministering. If she had felt butterflies before, now it was earthquakes and avalanches. 

Wufei tended to her as carefully as he could but she's too damn- "Ping… you're too tense." 

She was startled when he called her first name. She nearly didn't react, so unfamiliar she was at how her name would sound with his voice. "Oh! Oh… didn't mean to…" She forced herself to relax, and thankfully, she was able to. Just so she wouldn't keep on thinking about how wonderful his hands felt under her feet, she started fiddling with whatever medication she thought he would need, laying it out in an orderly row.

He didn't need to keep on cleaning her wound with water… he did a good job already, but he couldn't seem to stop until he forced himself to stop. "Antiseptics."

"Ready." Ping had the things ready for him as he held out his hands.

He did it as fast as he could. He must get away from her and let out some of the energy he could feel bubbling inside him. Restless energy. "The wound was deeper than we thought. Are you sure you can walk, Colonel?"

There was that usual challenging tone, but it was soft. "Positive, Commander. I don't back down that quickly."

"Fine. We'll do as we planned for this week. Get yourself ready."  With those last words, Wufei walked out of her tent and Ping finally let herself fall back on her bag and press her hand against her rebellious stomach. Outside, Wufei motioned for Ping's second. 

Half afraid and half curious, Dawn moved forward. "Yes sir?"

"If she starts limping, bring back the troops."

His tone was soft but threatening. Dawn could only gape. Ping would never allow it! "But sir-"

"If we're talking about ranks, I pull a higher rank than either of you."

Dawn flinched at his narrowed eyes. He was right… "Yes sir…"

Wufei nodded. He moved away, checked his troops, and gave his final orders before he walked back into his tent to get ready.

**…**

It was an hour past seven and everyone was on the edge. They had dinner ready, and for the first time in weeks since their camp converged, they did it without the men's help. They were even able to wash clothes, unpack, take a bath and yet… still there was nothing. Not a single sign that the men were coming back. No lights, not a flutter of wind. Everything was eerily quiet…

"Ping…?" 

She stopped in mid-pace. Half of her troops were in front of her with worried faces. "What is it?"

"I don't like this…" Sam was the first to talk and Ping could only nod.

"Neither do I…"

"Maybe we should go and look for them…?" Lynn suggested as she looked at the dark forest that surrounded them. 

Ping shook her head. She's scared but she has confidence in the man who commands the Preventer's troops. Besides… she has a feeling that Wufei never leaves a job unfinished. "No… We'll wait."

She kept on pacing, shook her feet off her stiff boots, and paced again. They waited as if forever. She could tell that her friends cared for those men out there, even if they started out as just interested in play… "Wufei… where are you?" The muttered plea left her lips when one of her girls shouted-

"They're here!!!"

She stopped her pacing when their look out flagged a light signal. Hannah's figure slowly emerged as she ran back to the camp. The deathly silent camp bustled with life as they waited anxiously for them. Two minutes later, shadows of weary men came to view.  

Ping's eyes tried to zero in to that one person but it was too dark… She wasn't able to see him until he stepped into the dim light of their huge campfire and she couldn't stifle the gasp that tore at her throat. She could be quite sure that the question in her mind was deeply echoed in her troops. 'What happened to them?'

Wufei motioned with his hands and his men gave a silent sigh as they all but crumpled to the ground. His eyes searched the crowd of women in front and met the one he was looking for. 

Ping nodded, understanding what he told her with his eyes. She faced her troops and glared at them. "Well?! What are you waiting for?!" 

It was all the prompting they needed as they rushed to get their own kits and then to the men. For a moment, she was able to tell who was interested in whom. She glanced back at Wufei, saw him amble towards the fire, sit in front of the log, and just stare. Her mind made up, she walked inside her tent and fetched the kit they used earlier that morning.

A few minutes later, a shadow fell over Wufei and he looked up. Her green eyes were the only ones illuminated by the fire while her other features were hidden by shadows.

"Hey."

Wufei nodded. 

"Care to tell me what happened?" 

Her voice was soothing and Wufei let his head fall against the log and closed his eyes. He let his guard down, too tired, and talked. "Traps. Guess the government didn't do too well with their securities and some dumb assholes thought they could catch some wild animals."

Ping felt a surge of anger for whoever set those traps. "Let me guess the rest of the story."

"Suit yourself." Wufei answered then jerked when he felt Ping's hand over his. 

"I'm just going to tend your wounds, Wufei." Ping whispered, her concern overriding the fact that she called him his name, again. 

"I can do it myself." His skin had crawled at her touch and there was something in him that was just telling him not to let her.

Ping breathed in deeply. She knew it was going to take some work to get him to cooperate, knowing how self-reliant he was. "I know." Their eyes met and stayed. 

He saw her determination, and too tired to argue, he shrugged. "Good."

Ping felt slightly victorious and smiled softly. "Anyway… tell me if I'm even close to…" Her voice trailed off as she saw the wounds when she rolled up his sleeve. Some of them, the blood had dried and had stuck the cloth to his skin! 

Wufei checked her expression and only found steadiness. 

"I'm going to get some warm water…" She quickly turned away, suddenly aware that her eyes held some tears. Must be because they were too near the fire… Smoke got into her eyes… She passed some of the men being administered by her troops and saw that none of them were even near to how badly Wufei was wounded. "Hannah," she patted at the one nearest to their 'kitchen' section, and was finishing up with her patient. "Get some more water heated up."

She grabbed the last bowl and thermos and went back to Wufei's side. He looked as if he was sleeping, but she knew he wasn't. When she poured the water into the bowl, she remembered that she forgot to get an extra cloth. Without thinking about it, she tugged at her own shirt and started to tear a small piece.

Wufei opened his eyes slightly and frowned when he saw what she was doing. "You don't have to do that."

His stubbornness was still there and Ping gave him a hard look. She wants to clean him up already and this was what she's getting?! No wonder she wasn't a nurse! "Why don't you just shut up, lie down, and let me take care of it?!"

Wufei blinked in surprise. 

"Take off your jacket." Ping ordered as she unbuttoned it. She didn't wait for his answer as she started to push it off his shoulders. He could only comply. The scrapes and cuts she saw were all over his arms… Her glance slowly went over his body and took in the battered, holed pants. "Dammit Wufei! What did you do to yourself?!"

Her angry mutter was a contrast to the soft touch as she checked his arms, and then his legs, that he knew she wasn't really angry _with_ him.

"Get up and take a quick shower!" Ping pulled his arm to make him stand.

Wufei bit back a cry of pain. "I don't take orders-"

"It isn't an order!" Ping stopped him in mid-bark. "I just forgot to say please!" She let go of Wufei and breathed in deeply while Wufei stared at her. "Please…"

That look in her eyes… he couldn't quite understand it… Nobody but his mentor, Sally, and Relena had ever given him that look… He turned away, as usual, unable to meet it, and snorted his answer while he walked to the manmade showers.

"I'll ask someone to bring you your things." Ping added before she turned and walked into Wufei's tent. Everything was so organized it wasn't hard to find just a pair of sleeveless shirt and shorts, towels and soap. She didn't ask anyone to bring it to him, she just decided to take it herself.

She could hear his grumble even before she reached the showers and gave him a warning before she slipped him the soap. Everything went smoothly after that and she just waited for his hand, gave him the towel and then his clothes.

Once he stepped outside, he looked a tad better. Nobody spoke as they walked back to his tent and Wufei could only wonder why she'd care so much as she taped bandages over countless of scratches, scrapes, a deep wound on his upper left arm, and others. He found the silence too comforting that he became a bit… disconcerted.

"So… you said you have a theory about what happened."

Ping looked up from his leg wound, a scratch obviously made by a sharp object.  A knife maybe? "Yes… How about, you encountered the first booby trap, got out of it with your first few wounds, met a few more traps, and you decided to clean those up before anyone else get hurt- animal or people- in that part of your terrain while you did your hunt…?"

Wufei shrugged as he closed his eyes… She came in close. He couldn't bear to imagine any animals suffering in those traps. "Near enough." He was, if he were truthful, scared for his troops… When Janus nearly fell into that pit with the stakes and he barely caught him, scraping his elbow and knees in the process… then the arrows that came cruising by… If they didn't have knowledge that Southern India was supposed to be deserted, he'd have thought there were savages on their trail! This was one of the things he hates about being a commander… he had to keep an eye out for his soldiers, keep them safe no matter the consequence. Then again, if it wasn't for his troops, he would have been left to die when he wasn't able to dodge that one arrow… good thing it wasn't a deep wound.

A slight breeze swished inside his tent and he knew someone came in.

"Over here, Katie." Ping's voice was soothing and then the tantalizing smell of food reached his nose.

Wufei opened his eyes only to see his tent flap swish back to place and when he turned his head, Ping held a huge mug of steaming soup right in front of his eyes.

"Here… Eat this."

Who was he to complain? His stomach was growling, he was tired, but he wasn't too tired not to eat. Against his will, he muttered his thanks. Ping's smile softened and their fingers touched as he took the mug.

"You're welcome." Why does she always waver when there's someone who needs help at her door?! Just like him right now… Okay. Maybe he didn't knock at her door. He just stumbled in and even when he barred his fangs, she still wanted to take care of him- all too much. Funny thing was, she could sit all night beside him and watch him drink off from that mug he's holding… and that, she never did to anyone.

Wufei knew that she was watching him and he nearly burned his tongue as he gulped down those last few drops. He was uneasy. Why was he feeling that way?

Ping nodded as she took his cup. This time, she made sure that their fingers didn't touch. Then, she took the warm mug on the tray and gave it to him, half praying that he would never figure out that she dropped some sleeping pills in it. He chugged it down rather too quickly that she was surprised he didn't choke!

The pills took effect almost instantly! Wufei's eyelids grew heavy and he kept on shaking his head to try and stay awake while she finished with the last few wounds. "Lie down, Wufei…" Ping whispered as she pushed his upper torso on to his bag.

Wufei didn't struggle… he couldn't. Everything was too… dizzying. "You're almost as good as… Sally… patch… wounds…" Were those words coming out of his lips? Couldn't be…

"Thank you." Ping answered, feeling a slight pang of jealousy towards whoever this Sally person was. If Wufei trusted her enough with his wounds without the hardships she endured…

"Know what's different?" Wufei asked, his words very slurred as he tried to focus on her.

"What?" She was patting the covers over him when she felt his arms go around her waist and, for a man who was supposed to be near to sleep, pulled her down to him with unquestionable strength. "Wufei!" Her breasts meshed against his hard chest and she could only stare at his lost look while his fingers grazed over her face.

"I think I want to… kiss you…"

Ping's eyes widened and she nearly grew cross-eyed while she stared at his lips. Her throat became dry as the dessert sands when she realized that… she would like that too… 

Slowly, their faces inched forward… Her eyes closed and she tilted her chin… She waited for their lips to meet. To explore and to quench a growing curiosity about him…

She waited until the seconds turned to a minute too long and she opened her eyes only to find the big, stupid man with his mouth slightly open- fast asleep! 

Her hands crumpled a handful of his shirt, tempted to slap him awake, and demand to be satisfied! "You jerk…"

Still debating whether to physically injure him some more, he stirred under her and she quickly moved away. She watched as Wufei curled, almost in a half-fetal position.

"I'm happy… they did not get hurt… bad…" 

The sleepy mumble reached her ears clearly and her anger subsided. He does care a lot for his men… She let her hand push back a stray of damp hair away from his face, feeling protective about him. And then with a sigh, she picked up his tray and walked out of his tent to check up on the others.


	43. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 7

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Seven**

** by Heartfire**

*******

He couldn't remember much of what happened last night… all he knew was Ping's caressing hands all over his body… Well, more around his wounds. But he was plagued with dreams about her weight over his body and a near kiss. So near that he just had to lean forward… but something happened and then there was nothing.

Wufei controlled a flinch as his deep, upper arm wound reacted to the strain of his muscles. He concentrated his mind and body and thought of space… of emptiness… then he started to move. When he turned, his eyes fell on a familiar crown of curly, blonde hair, bouncing behind a very straight back. He felt her anger before he saw it in her eyes. She walked with a purpose towards him. A heated glitter shone in her eyes. Were those circles from lack of sleep? Why was she coming towards him as if ready to fight a war?

Not knowing what else to do, he stopped. 

Ping glared at him. She spent the entire night tossing and turning… She didn't get a single wink of sleep! All because of what he did yesterday… Well! He offered and she's going to take! Or so help her God, she's going to go crazy! 

Her curiosity had always been her downfall… and this time, it was awakened by what he said. She never could stand being left in the dark. She knew that he would be out here in the fields. She was going to tempt fate and demand for the answer that she had been looking for all night! She stopped in front of him and took in his ever-present frown.

A thousand and one thoughts kept on spinning in his mind. Did he do something the previous night that he didn't know of? Was he forward to her? What happened last night?! Why would she greet him like this when they didn't even really had a fight?

"Chang." Her voice was hard and edged with all the dangerous things you could think of.

"Rossi." He used his usual, indifferent tone. The next thing Wufei knew, Ping had stepped forward and the sky was suddenly in front of his eyes. Pain crept up from his back and as he breathed in air, only for it to be pushed out by a weight over his chest.

Wufei's eyes widened as he realized that Ping was on top of him. Her hands were on his shoulders, effectively pinning him down. And her eyes were truly the angriest he had ever seen! He opened his lips to demand an explanation when… her lips got in the way.

Stunned… Wufei lay still. One of her knees was on his stomach, and her hands were still on his shoulders, but all thoughts were centered on those soft lips making their mark over his own…

Her tongue scorched the recesses of his mouth like licks of flames that stroked at his core. She was devouring him and he wanted to put his hands around her but… he just couldn't move!

Finally, her kiss lightened and he felt her shift. He didn't know what expression was on his face but he felt like grinning silly. Whatever she saw, though, he was sure it wasn't to her liking because she only glared at him some more before she stood up and then walked away.

"The usual plan, Chang!"

Then she was gone. She was gone and he was still lying on the grass, staring at the morning sky with a stunned expression on his face. Suddenly, he felt a burning, prickling sensation in his lungs and he realized that he had forgotten to breathe…

He gulped in air like a drowned man. Breathed in deeply for God knew how long and how many times - but he still wasn't over what had happened… Finally, he was able to flex his hands… move his arm… his back… and then he was up. He looked down at his crotch and was embarrassed at what he saw…

With a groan, he fell back on the grass and willed his body to relax. He will relax even if it kills him! What did he do last night to deserve this?! No woman had ever kissed him the way she had… and damn! It excited and frightened the hell out of him at the same time! Whatever he did… it must have been pretty darn stupid for her to get mad and make him suffer like this… 

"Damn onna!" The growl wasn't as harsh as he wanted it to be. Well… he knew what he was going to do… He was going to forget what happened for his sanity's sake! Whatever he did last night, she got even with today, and he was not about to get into the ring with a fight he had no clue about. 

With that thought in mind, and his body finally as relaxed as it could get, he stood up and lumbered back to the camp.

**…**

They shouldn't have taken a break. They should have kept on moving, because right now, while she wasn't doing anything… while the sun poured its heat on their backs and the forest sounds echoed, her thoughts came back to him.

Her troops all gave each other a wary side ways glance as they saw the gloomy cloud over their leader's head erupt with lightning and rain. She stood against a tree, a scowl almost akin to the Preventer's Commander on her face, and the poor twig she was staring at would have probably burned up in smoke eons ago if she had lasers shooting at it with the way her eyes looked. One could only wonder what was brewing in her mind… Probably another fight with the Commander… Even Dawn and Christine kept away from her- and that was a sure sign of trouble with a capital T.

She was so angry she could scream! She bet her best kiss that morning and what did she get?! A stone! He didn't even bat an eyelash! He just stared at her with that unreadable face of his! He just didn't react! 

Was she losing her touch? She knew she's pretty. Not beautiful, but passable… A good enough figure although she often wished her lips weren't thin and wide and was, instead, full and small. But even so, she wouldn't have been able to trick answers from men if she weren't pretty… but the damn man she had kissed with an equivalent to a gut punch did not even give her a single response nor a single muscle movement! The bad thing was _she wanted him to_! 

She found out her answer, all right… The answer to the question that had plagued her all night… She was attracted to that impossible man! How could she do this to herself!?

A bug flew in front of her face and she didn't give it any thought as she pondered on it. She was angrier with herself. More at herself than at Wufei because she was the one who wanted answers, who became attracted to him, so now she must deal with the problem.

Either she forgets about him, or… she must work this through. Forgetting him would be the easy way out… Cowards' way out. She knew herself well enough that she wouldn't take such a course of action. One more bad thing about her, darn it! So… what's left was to work it out. To make the situation turn to her favor.

For a moment, she remembered the day he carried her into her tent. He was tense, then… She had thought that maybe he was attracted to her…  

A gleam that made everyone shiver under the sweltering sun appeared in her emerald green eyes. 

Maybe he _was_ attracted to her… She was pretty good with reading body languages, and the only way to read his was to-

An idea suddenly popped into her head and that made her smile widely. 'Eureka… I found it…'

Another look was passed between her troops. Either their fearless leader had some mischief planned up her sleeves, or the sun was frying her brain. Before they could give any more thought to those theories, Ping had called their break over and they all went back to work.

**…**

Wufei cautiously picked a new spot during dinner, well away from the chattering, happy crowd and from a certain blonde, green eyed woman whom he was getting suspicious looks from.  He took a long sip of the soup and choked when a hand touched his shoulder.

He sputtered, coughed, dropped his bowl as he banged a hand on his chest, and his eyes burned while a hand started to rub his back… and then the voice. _Her_ voice. 

"Wufei… are you all right? I'm so sorry…"

'She's sorry?!' She made his life a miserable hell and it only took his near choking to death for her to say that?! And why the hell is she so close to him?! He could damn feel her breasts pressed against his right arm! His coughing spasm finally died down and Wufei hastily moved away.

"I'm really sorry… Here, I'll get you some more soup. You stay put." 

Before he could protest, she was already halfway to the boiling pot in the middle of the campfire, and then she was pouring soup into his bowl. She turned and gave him a too wide and too cheerful smile. Wufei had the sudden inkling that… he was looking in the eyes of a predator as she held the bowl in front of him… 

It was like the apple in Adam and Eve, and like Adam, Wufei reached out for his bowl, unable to look away from those bewitching green eyes. His hands touched her fingertips and he could be quite sure that she knew the bowl was secure, but she didn't let go until after she gave him another sizzling look.

"I really do hope that you'd forgive me…"

Her voice was too sweet and her face was too innocent that- "No."

Ping's green eyes widened with shock and distress. She's got Wufei pinned. No man could ever resist a helpless woman… even a chauvinist like him. "No? No, you won't forgive me…? Oh…" She bit down on her lower lip that appeared to tremble. She was overdoing it, but heck… she was having fun! "Well… I…" She swallowed, as if trying not to cry. "I guess I just have to go now…"

Wufei's eyes widened as Ping turned away, head down, embarrassed. Okay… she might not be acting like her usual self… but what if… Damn! Why was he feeling guilty?! He hates himself… Heero was right. He's gone soft. 'Damn you, Relena.' He's sure it was Relena's fault. With a frustrated sigh, he called her back. "Ping. Stop."

She paused and hid a grin. "Yes…?"

Her voice sounded tremulous and Wufei felt like the lowest life form on the face of the earth. Why was it that he didn't he feel victorious that she was the one who was asking for his forgiveness? "I don't know what game you're playing..."

Ping shook her head, still not facing him. "Game? What game?" Was she caught?

Those all too innocent questions still didn't erase his doubts, but heck… "Fine! I forgive you. Is that what you want to hear?!"

Her shoulders rocked as she almost laughed and she quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "You… you don't sound like you mean it…"

Was she starting to cry?! Oh no… No! No!! No!!! Why do women cry, anyway?! "I mean it… now come back here and sit." Wufei frowned as he did a double take. What the heck did he just said?

Ping grinned triumphantly. She knew it. "Oh… okay… if you want me to…" She turned around, head still bent, and slowly walked back to him.

They ate in silence, while Wufei occasionally glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. This was the most silent she had ever been… It was too unnerving. 

"If you want to cry, go to a spot where you'd be alone and cry there. Don't let anyone see you. You'd look like a weakling in front of your own troop… I thought you were better than that."

The last sentence was grumbled under his breath and Ping felt as if he just complimented her- in a sarcastic sort of way. "I'll keep that in mind." She let the soft sounds of the crickets' song, and their troops' merry conversation washed over them for a few more minutes then she did her last act for the night.

"Oh!" Her spoon _accidentally_ fell near Wufei's feet. "Darn. Just a minute…" 

Wufei was trying not to mind until her hand touched his inner thigh and her hair tickled his leg at the same time. He almost choked on his soup again. He was wearing his shorts and… and… the pressure on her hand, that feel of her hair against his skin was sending his nervous system into haywire!

"There! I got it!"

Her hand left him and he suddenly could breathe again, although why did it feel as if he missed that pressure?

"Well, thank you for inviting me to eat dinner with you, Wufei."

'I_ invited_ her…?' Wufei frowned at her as she smiled at him.

"I hope we could do it again." 

Her hand reached out to touch his shoulder and… did she just give him a squeeze? What did it mean? Before he could tell her that he did not want to eat with her- ever!- she was walking back to the campfire, and he could only stare at her swishing behind.

Slowly, his gaze went down to his leg, where she had touched him, and he frowned as an unfamiliar sensation rushed through him. 'What the hell is going on here?!'

**…**

There was something different in the air, and yet they acted as they normally did- except for the fact that Wufei would always feel as if someone was watching him, and that he would constantly bump into Ping wherever he went! He had already accepted her intrusions during his morning rituals, accepted the fact that they should work like a team- and they had been!- even accepted the fact that she would continuously sit by his side and eat dinner with him even when he was as far away from the campfire as he could possibly be!

It was as if… she was singling him out.

Wufei shook his head. 'No… she couldn't be.' He entered his tent, ready to call it a night. They found more traps and he was dead tired.

From the campfire, green eyes followed his wake, then focused onto the small fire that had once been magnificent. She couldn't help the giddy smile on her face, nor could she stop feeling utterly satisfied. It had been quite some time since she had pursued one of the male specie for her own enjoyment, her own interest, and there's always that something different about such a thing compared to assignments.

Besides… 'I think he's starting to get more comfortable around me…' She grinned when she remembered how he had offered, rather gruffly, if she wanted water. She was making progress. Good. 'Very good…'

A little guilty feeling started to creep on her, though. The mere fact that she was playing around with someone's feelings… No. She wasn't exactly playing around. She was just cleverly demonstrating her growing attraction to the man. No harm to that, right? It was part of life's game. 

From a distance, some wild animal howled its song to the moon above. The twinkling stars winked down at her, as if to tell her that they would keep her secret, while the full moon kept its peace. 

**…**

It was like all the other mornings. He woke up early, went to the meadow and had stepped into the middle of his forms when she showed up with that dazzling smile of hers. 

Days of walking in a cloud of confusion created by her uncharacteristic actions took its toll on him. He was used to being alone. He liked it. He loved his old life. What he did not like was invasion of his privacy.

"Will you just leave me alone?!"

Ping stopped just before she crossed the stream to join him. He had shouted at her as if… Anger coursed through her and her eyes slanted. "It's not as if we're not living in the same area! But I know when I'm not wanted!"

"No!" The word was ripped from his throat. Wufei pushed a hand through his hair, clutching a good amount to apply pressure to his already throbbing head. He wanted her to leave, didn't he? "It's not that… Maybe it is… Heck! You're getting me confused!" His arms flung out in exasperation then he finally looked at her. He had thought long and hard about this. He knew this was the truth.  "Listen. We never really saw each other except for three times a day: during my morning exercise; our evening official meetings; and dinner. Other than that, I never really see you! And now, everywhere I go, you're there!"  He felt trapped!

Ping felt as if she was slapped… She had always noticed him… had he meant that he never noticed her except for those three times a day? While she… her eyes would stray to where he stood, sat, and walked? It created a hole in her… "Are you insinuating that I am following you around?!" Well… she kind of was… but he doesn't know that. Had she been too much? Yes, maybe it was time to back off. Besides, she was a bit angry and hurt at what he said. Before he could speak, she shook her head. "Anyway. Forget it. I will do my best to stay out of your way, Commander Chang. Good day."

Her tone was colder than ice and Wufei's jaw nearly fell. She had agreed far too quickly. Wait… should he even question his good fortune? He was rid of her! "Well… Good!" He had shouted back at her, but she never even turned around to stick out her tongue at him.

**…**

He missed it, bumping into her. He missed her damn smile, her too cheerful attitude, and her bouncy, very curly hair… Her. He missed her. It wasn't like the way he missed Nataku… or the way he missed Meiran… or the way he missed Relena. It was different and scary and he didn't know what to do.

She had stopped doing his exercises with him. She had stopped eating dinner with him. She would instantly turn to the other direction whenever they see each other, except during their evening conferences. But other than that, she would not talk to him, nor acknowledge him. It was irritating! 

He didn't tell her to ignore him like he was the damn plague, did he…? The mere fact that he would look forward to their evening individual reports just to hear her voice was already a shock for his system. 

Wufei finally resigned his fate for the worse. He decided to do something so humiliating. He was going to apologize to her. 

She was talking to one of her subordinates, her back to him, while he walked towards her. Then, almost as if she could feel him call out for her, she turned. Her eyes locked against his then… strayed to something behind him.

Ping's eyes widened. Her jaw slackened and her usually wide, smiling lips formed a surprised circle… The next thing Wufei knew, she was screaming. 

The utter joy in her face as she ran past Wufei in such a carefree manner left him in a mixture of befuddlement and growing anger. Curious, Wufei turned. 

He saw a tall, nicely built, and blonde. He jumped down from a single cart pulled by a large gray ox and ran towards Ping. They met halfway, and almost like children, they jumped into each other's arms and that guy pulled her off the ground and swung her around as though they were making a sickly romantic movie.

Wufei's trim nails cut through his palm as he glared at the two, laughing so utterly, disgustingly happy.  Wait a minute… Why was he so angry, anyway? There wasn't anything to get angry about, right? Of course... How stupid of him. 

He was on the verge of brushing the whole thing aside when Ping gave one huge kiss on the man's cheek. His blood boiled. They were getting a little bit too physical over there, but he couldn't do anything. That wasn't in his jurisdiction, so he forced himself to turn away and give a blind eye at whatever they were doing.  He was going to give that Ping hell by tonight's meeting… No. Wait. There's no meeting tonight because there was no hunt! It was rest day! Damn!

How many guys does she have eating at the palm of her hand, anyway? With a growl of pure menace, Wufei stalked off where he would not have to look at that stomach-turning display of affection.

**…**

Stephen laughed while he tried to push Ping away. "Ping! Your parents should never have relocated to Italy after you were born… Look at what they did to you! Don't you know that a priest gets tempted when a beautiful woman gives them kisses?"

The twinkle in his eyes belied his serious tone, and besides, she knew him more than anyone else in the world. She only lightly punched him in the stomach. "Stephen, I know more than fifty ways to paralyze you. Don't make me use any of them just so I can give you a kiss." The wide grin on Stephen's face showed her that he knew she wouldn't and she, in quick response, pinched him. "Oh my… Stephen! You're getting paunchy!"

Stephen quickly pried her hands away. "Hey! C'mon, give me a break! I'm not paunchy. I'm fit. I've been building homes for the needy, hauling bricks and tons of canned foods- how could you say I'm paunchy?!"

The hurt look on his face instantly made her want to take back her words. "I'm sorry, Steph… I was only kidding." She looked at him and noted how he had grown. This was the man she met in the Holy Family Cathedral in Italy when he was just a teen, wanting to be a priest… the one who had taken her in when she was lost after her parents got shot. They were like siblings, especially when Uncle Will adopted them… They were closest of the kind. Besides, they almost look alike. He had the same curly hair, wide mouth, and same shape of the eyes, like hers, though his were blue… and that helped during those first few months after they died. It helped so much thinking that she has someone. "I missed you…"

Stephen smiled as he hugged her again, hearing the sincerity in her voice. "I missed you too…" She only came up to his shoulders. His petite little helper. "You've got more freckles than ever, pimple face, and are you ever going to instill discipline to this fuzzy hair of yours?!"

A quick punch to his stomach was his answer, coupled with that telltale green fire in her eyes as she glared at him. "If you dare make another comment about my freckles-"

"Call it even?" 

Knowing that he could only stay for a day and must leave, she nodded. "Deal." They locked hands and Ping started to pull him where they could be alone and talk. "Where's Father Pio?"

Stephen sighed. "He's sick. I came by just two weeks ago with the charity housing committee. He mentioned that he visits a group down here. I asked if I could accompany his trip in here then, you know, he got sick and he mentioned your name." He messed her hair with his hand while Ping squealed. "So, here I am. Ready to take your confession- and knowing you, it's going to take the whole day!"

"Hey! What kind of a priest are you, teasing me like that!" Ping cried out, then she wrinkled her nose in disgust. 

Stephen laughed once again. Memories of his early priesthood assailed him and he saw her as the child who had thrown her childhood away because of war. "It's been years, Ping. So, has everything been fine?" His face became serious as he tenderly touched her cheek. "Are you still getting those nightmares?"

She turned her head and he knew that she must still be dreaming about the past every now and then. 

"I know I didn't take it too well when my parents died…" They stopped just outside a strip of wild trees, east of the camp and Ping looked down at the ground. 

Stephen remembered how hard she worked to help him get food for the orphans, and to pay for the bills. She was no more than a child herself, supposed to be in high school instead of scrimping, saving, working, and not buying anything for herself… Stephen tilted her chin up with his finger, wanting her to see… To make her realize that she must let it go.  

She loved him so much, and the way her eyes started to glisten showed how much she understood. Didn't she just have almost the same thoughts with Uncle Will a few months ago?

"We can't change the past. I know that you've accepted that, Ping, but you must understand… let it go…"

They only addressed this issue once before… They fought that time, or at least, she fought him. Ping looked away as tears started to fall down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm being impossible-"

"No. I never thought that way about you. I just want to tell you to let go and to live your own life."

"It's hard to let go… sometimes…" Ping whispered as she leaned against a banana tree while she pressed her shirtsleeve to her eyes to wipe away the tears that fell.

"I know… it's been too long… But you have to. You became more like a parent than you've realized…" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and then gave it a companionable squeeze. "I… I bought you something…" From inside his jacket, he took out a rectangular box then positioned it in front of Ping until she opened her eyes and her hands reached for it.

"Thank you…"  She was about to open it when he stopped her.

"No… Open it when I'm not here… I don't want to see you cry again… Stop crying."

"How'd you know I'd cry?" Ping quickly rubbed her eyes against her sleeve again then tried to give the same withering look she used to give him before. But with her eyes glistening with tears, it didn't have the same effect.

"I know you… need I say more?" They looked at each other, their eyes conveying a thousand messages and more were sent, though none were said, and then Stephen looked away. "So… South India… It looks nice. What did Uncle Will sent you to do this time…?"

He changed the subject. So nice of him… Ping sighed then she started with the objective of her mission.

**…**

Wufei stared at the stained cloth in his hands in the middle of the grassy meadow. A chilly breeze shifted his hair. Strands fell out of place and teased at his eyes but he never looked away from Meiran's cloth. 

They had been happy together, weren't they? Sure, they fought a lot- well…more than a lot, but they also had respect for each other, right? Why does he even carry this cloth? Hadn't he laid it all to rest a long time ago? He knew his right path. His basis for justice. Of course, old habits die hard, but other than that… why couldn't he let go of the cloth? 

He knew it was a reminder… something to remind him of what he had lost? To remind him of pain and vengeance… Of his wrong decisions... But weren't they all ingrained in his mind?

A bell sounded from a distance and Wufei looked up to the sky, lit by the orange flame of the sun. It was dusk all ready… Dinner. He had been away that long? Now he was going to see Ping and that guy again…

His hand scrunched the cloth as renewed anger coursed through him. He reached the camp and appeared composed. He was able to tilt his head away and not look where a certain couple was having such a happy time, with every laugh that was seemingly like a knife wound to his soul. And after dinner, he went into his tent with orders to not be disturbed.

His ears stayed in tune to the noises outside, though. He listened to every laughter and hushed conversations, and then felt a lighter load when he finally heard the guy say that it was time to go.

The man was finally going to leave. The ox grunted its protest as it started. Wufei stayed in his sleeping bag until the camp finally became silent, and then, he sat up and remembered… they haven't plotted the route for tomorrow. Or maybe it was just the best excuse he could come up with to see Ping. To observe how much she cares for that man…

He walked out and cleared his throat outside her tent, but when no one answered, he opened it and found it empty. With a frown on his face, he looked around the camp and found the two on patrol.

'Where is she…?' He looked up at the silvery, full moon that hinted of the mystique of the night then around the forest clump. Following his instincts, he walked into the forest. The thick leaves that loomed over his head shadowed the light from the moon. Halfway down, he decided to turn back and forget about her. She could take care of herself. 

Suddenly… a sound caught his attention… 

He couldn't describe it except that it seemed to call to him, and he finally stepped out of the shadowed forest into a lighted terrain. Blue gray mountains kissed the skies while the wind blew its melody into the night with flowers abloom. In the middle of it all, a silhouette sat, curled over knees with trembling shoulders, the only hint of whom it might be was the glint of gold upon curly tresses. 

Wufei moved forward, life around him unperturbed by his silent pace. Another sound caught his ears, a tiny, bell like sound with a melody that reminds a person of childhood. 

A golden box glinted at him, beside the shadowed figure, a figurine in the middle. A music box. She hiccupped then cried silently once again. It was a fairy, in the box… A symbol of mischief, innocence, and childhood… Its glassy, pointed wings ready to take flight as if to travel the world.

"Go ahead and make fun if you want… Women are weak… go on… say it."

Her voice was broken by her sobs, but one couldn't deny the strength in it. Wufei bit his lower lip. How did she know that he was there?

"Well? Where is it?" 

She turned and looked at him. Her eyes were puffy from constant rubbing, her nose was red, her lips were trembling, and her whole face was wet with tears, but her eyes still held that strength he had once seen. What did that bastard do to make her cry like this? His anger for the man tripled and he wished he could slit his throat that very instant. He didn't care that the guy was a priest. Right now, he ignored it and focused on this woman in front of him.

She rubbed her arm between her nose and upper lip, the way a child without a handkerchief would, followed by a quick shrug of her sleeve on her cheek. 

"Well, Commander Chang? Where's your sermon? Oh… by the way, I was alone. I picked this place so I could cry alone."

He said that, didn't he…? It sounds so idiotic now, so stupid… "It isn't the end of the world." Whatever it is she's crying over… he's not worth it… That man isn't worth it. He must be one of those priests who could marry, but so what if he was a priest? He was like all the other men who make women cry.  More tears coursed down her cheeks and it seemed as if he was bleeding alongside her.

"I know…" She turned away from him to look down at the box. On the small, golden plaque at the base of the box, the word 'MINX' was engraved.

Wufei's feet took him closer to her. He hesitated then finally gave up and let the pull of gravity be his guide as he kneeled down on one knee beside her and then placed a hand on her shoulder. It didn't become her, crying like this… "Is it worth crying for?" He used _it_, but he knew he meant '_he_'. Would someone cry for him when he dies…?

He nearly lost his balance when Ping suddenly turned to him and then embraced him. Her hands locked behind his back and her shoulders rocked against his chest while tears seeped into his shirt. 

"Yes… it is…"

He didn't know why he suddenly felt so heavy, then. Why he, at that instant, felt… squashed.

"He made me realize something I've been running away from… He's my bestest friend, you know… He knows I listen to him…"

'Friend?' They're only friends?! Of course! That man _is_ a priest! What was that sudden glorious feeling that erupted in his chest? Why did he suddenly have the urge to put his arms around her? Why did…

His hands went to her shoulders then, after a few minutes, he pulled away. Ping looked up at him, her curly locks in disarray, looking the worst she had ever looked since she had learned how to properly dress and act. 

Fireflies fluttered and danced around them. Her music box continued its song. His hands slowly cupped her face while his thumbs wiped away those tears… Her eyes fluttered close and then, Wufei acted upon impulse as he leaned down and kissed both her eyes… touched her cheek as he looked for her lips… and found them.

Gentle, warm satisfaction coursed through him, heightened when Ping opened her lips to him and urged him on… Their heads tilted slightly... It was a gentle kiss with the relentless heat of the sun… Intimate and unhindered… Her hands curled on his shirtfront while Wufei's hands buried themselves into her hair. Flames seared their flesh and their head spun.

Abruptly, Ping pushed Wufei away and he landed on the soft, grass covered ground. He looked up and he saw wide, panic stricken green eyes while hands slowly went up to cover raw kissed lips.

Confusion rushed through Wufei but before he could do anything, a gasp left Ping's lips and then she was running away from him… He followed her with his eyes until she merged with the shadows and he couldn't see her anymore… 

The soft sounds of the music box still played, the way her scent lingered in the air… he couldn't believe what he had just done, but the evidence was still there. His lips still felt soft. Her music box was on the grass. 

Wufei brought out the bloodied cloth from his pocket, stared at it then at the figurine, and finally accepted the truth… He was attracted to her. How deeply, he was not sure. She had piqued his interest, and his body's response… showed attraction. 

His hands went up to his face and he rubbed the sides of his nose, up to his forehead, then down while a sigh escaped his lips. This was not good. How could he stay a role model to his subordinates if he was attracted to one of the women in the camp? Aside from that, it was never good to mix business with pleasure. One of them would always give out. 

He would like to bang his head on the hardest metal he could find but he did no such thing as he tenderly took the box, closed it, and headed for camp. He will follow her lead. If she would act as though nothing had happened, so be it.

**…**

Ping zipped her tent entrance closed the moment she was able to control her shaking fingers. She stumbled towards her bag just as she remembered that she forgot her music box with Wufei!

With a groan, she sank into its folds. Why was she so shaken, anyway? Was it not that she wanted him to kiss her? Besides, she'd kissed him before… so… Why?

As soon as she asked her questions, answers heralded their wake. 

She had gone after Wufei with a purpose. She had kissed him with a purpose. A personally instilled one, but a purpose all the same. She had control over it. She knew what was going to happen in the end. Just like in all of her other missions. She would seduce a man for information, but she was in control. 

And yet, tonight… his kiss… she did not plan it. She had no purpose for it. She was not in control! He was the one who kissed her and… she let him.

Fine. She was not exactly the world's control freak. God knew how hard it was to control her temper, but she often would keep a tight lid on her emotions. It was what had kept her intact throughout all her missions! 

But, this evening… 

"Oh damn!" She won't think about it. It was a slip on her part. It was never good to make a mistake. She will cease her project. She will not flirt with him anymore. She does not need this in her life. She does not need him. No. She has her family…


	44. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 8

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Eight**

** by Heartfire**

*******

The helicopters weren't heard until the turbulent air came, flapping their tents, disturbing the peaceful morning. The two patrols instantly ran to their commanders to report and in no time at all, Wufei and Ping were out of the tent, fully dressed, and running towards the direction of two sleek, magnificent aircrafts, about to land. Their patrolling comrades roused the others and they were all dressed, and in perfect formation by the time the black dragonflies landed.  

The sun hadn't kissed the earth. There were still stars outside, though the telltale light from the east hinted of dawn. The two commanders stopped, a safe distance from the still twirling blades, face forward, shoulders back, feet planted, yet with the wariness in their eyes.

A couple of weeks had gone by since that night. She had woken up and found her music box outside her tent, and life went on like usual. They ate breakfast and dinner within the area, but very far apart. They plotted their routes with a stilted air. Their hands would accidentally touch upon the map, and both would quickly withdraw. Their eyes would meet and hastily look away. It was a game they both know so well, they had thought they've outgrown, and yet, they couldn't help but do.

Yes… Life had gone on without a change… 'Bull!' Wufei slanted his eyes as Une was helped out of the helicopter by McGregor. What great timing. Those two are going to check up on them again, and they are going to criticize and put their stinking opinion in the way. As if he didn't have enough to think about already! 

He gave a quick glance at Ping and noted the blush on her freckled cheek from their quick sprint, then he mentally cursed himself once again. The past weeks told him that he had become more attracted to her than before. But how could that be possible with the cold shoulder she was giving him?

"Good morning, Colonel Rossi, Commander Chang." Une greeted as she pushed her hair back to its usual order while William nodded to both of them. 

"Has everything been well?" 

Her Uncle directed the question to her and she quickly nodded her head. "Yes sir. We are nearing India's border and there are still no indications, sir!"

McGregor and Une looked at each other and shook their heads.

"This isn't good." Une looked around her. If it wasn't in India, they will move to Europe. They were wasting too much time. Satellite reports indicated no activity, but even so, there were questionable discrepancies. That was why they have their men- and women- to double check…

"If there's anything, they will find it, Ms. Une. I am confident, especially with Preventer's and the Intelligence working together." McGregor gave a meaningful look towards Ping. A look that showed that he was proud of her and left her a bit confused and happy at the same time.

Wufei, wondering why there were two helicopters, raised a questioning eyebrow at Une. 

She received the message. "We're going to leave the other roth-RA to help with your search. That should cut down on time."

Ping's eyes widened while Wufei kept his stoic face, though the pilot in him was itching to get on the control board. 

"We need to finish this up. Use it well." McGregor glanced at his watch then at Une. "We have a conference with the President in seven hours."

"Yes, of course." Une nodded as she signaled for one of the soldiers, unloading supplies for the camp. The man saluted, grabbed something from one of the boxes then hurried back to her.

"Ma'am." The man offered her a stack of papers.

Une took them then passed it to Wufei. "These are the manuals for the Roman Star. It's the newest model, so keep in mind that there will be some difference from the RD-A, the last one you flew."

Wufei just took the manuals. He'll glance through it later. They usually have very little differences- some of which are the brake lever location, or a separate button for the landing functions. 

"Do you know how to fly one of these, Colonel Rossi?" Une sent a curious look towards Ping who curtly nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

McGregor grinned. Ping was one of the top students in the last Flight Class. "Very well. The supplies have been unloaded. We must to go." With one last meaningful glance at his niece, he walked back to one of the RA's and waited for Une.

Une's eyes shrewdly tried to distinguish what was different about Wufei, and yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it. With a silent sigh, she nodded to the two. "I want both of you to take the RA for a test flight before you create the schedule. Gas and supplies will come in every week. That is all." 

Wufei and Ping, still in their attentive stance, watched as they boarded the gray model Roman Star. The blades began to move, the wind cut through their faces from the product turbulence of the rotary mount propeller, and then they finally took to the skies with the speed and silence of the highest caliber of its model. Its design inefficiency with regard to maneuverability and speed was greatly compensated by the advance technology, then again, all helicopters are with such problems.

"I'll get my men to do that." He heard himself offer without looking at her.

Ping nodded as her gaze fell on the multitude boxes left by Une's and McGregor's party, still embarrassed with memories. "Fine. Let's go over the manual afterwards then take that test flights. I would like to schedule the change of activity as soon as we can."

"Agreed." Wufei muttered. Scowl in place, he turned and signaled to his patrol while Ping walked back to camp to relay the news to her girls. 

Four hours later, with growing misgivings, the two commanders closed the manual then looked at the helicopter. Une had told them that they had to fly it together first before they could use it… Spending four hours together, the longest time they had spent since that night, was already straining both their patience to the brink. Could they last thirty to an hour more in the air?

"Let's do it." Wufei muttered as he opened the main pilot's door then pulled the helmet over his head.

"Right behind you." Ping muttered under her breath as she walked to the other door. Their troops stood around the craft, ready to disperse and do as commanded, except for Christine and Josh who were positioned in the radio-comm tent.

They strapped on their seatbelts then started the engine. The loud swirling sounds of the propellers above head were blocked by the effective internal design.

Ping tapped on their head device while Wufei checked the control panels. "This is Whiskey Niner Fifo Papa, requesting radio clearance to Red Base. Do you copy?"

Wufei checked the control panels one last time.

"Roger. Red Base copy. Loud and clear."

"Good. Just checking." Ping turned to Wufei and gave him a nod. Without another word, her stomach lurched, and they were off. 

They planned to stay in the air for forty minutes, moving in the South-Eastern direction. Ping checked the proper location of their night visions, lights, and other equipment while Wufei kept his attention on flying.

Minutes later, she brought out her binoculars and started looking over the endless trees below. They were flying a safe distance above ground so they wouldn't be heard if there were guerillas, or such, below. One of the innovations of the Star family was that no one could hear them, therefore unless they have a radar or a scout, the people in the Roman Star could easily spy on unsuspecting people...

Her fingers rolled the focus button and she wondered why there was a large, grassy area without trees… Nothing was on it, yet the way it was cut in almost a perfect rectangle was… interesting.

"Your turn." Wufei said as he tapped her shoulder. It was the first time he had dared to touch her… nothing happened though… maybe because of his gloves? Whatever it was, he's glad.

Ping nodded as she put away her binoculars. Wufei had the autopilot on so they could switch. 

There was little space for them to move around, and it was damn unnerving the way her buttocks had brushed against his manhood while they switched seats. They hadn't even settled in when they heard a clanging sound… 

With frowns on their faces, they looked at each other.

"I'll check." Wufei muttered as he stood up from his new seat. "Familiarize yourself with the panel."

"Fine." Ping answered, stomping on the familiar anger that came from being ordered. She was about to turn off their autopilot when she heard another set of that soft, almost undetectable metallic sound and then, still without her seatbelt, she was thrown forward.

Wufei, at the edge of the left side door, was pitched forward at the sudden blast. Everything became instinctive as his hands desperately went out for one of the landing gears, grabbed, and held on for life. Equipments from inside the helicopter spilled out above him. Something hit his shoulder and the utmost stinging pain almost made him lose his hold. Wufei looked down and saw how high they were from the ground. His stomach lurched and his heart bumped hard against his chest… 

Ping's head banged against the control panel. Her cheek and helmet took the brunt of it all but tears pricked the sides of her eyes from pain while her hand slowly pushed her body away. Her breasts hurt, too, and it took an effort not to hug herself and shout bloody hell. The static ringing right beside her ear made her pull out her helmet. Her comlink was broken. 

"Dammit!" She turned and checked behind her… "Wufei?!" She saw no one. Her heart pounded against her chest as she quickly walked to the back. "Wufei?!!" The wind threatened to force her back, but she stayed her place until she heard his voice…

"Here!" 

It came from outside. Her hand reached for the security rope, trying to acquaint herself with the dizzying rotating motion of the helicopter, and then she leaned over only to find Wufei, helplessly dangling… then one hand slipped. "Oh God…" Her hair whipped against her face as she pulled the rope. Years of training showed as she quickly tied it around her waist and then methodically jumped out of the door to suspend right beside him. 

A blast from behind her made them look, and they saw their tail burning… smoking… 

"Come on!!!" Ping shouted as she wrapped her hands around his waist. 

Wufei mentally thanked her while his hands grabbed hold of the rope, already feeling secure. His shoulder hurt and it took an effort to pull himself up, back inside the helicopter, and to pull her in.

She stumbled over him the moment her feet stepped on the metal floor and they both fell down. His hands went around her waist, while her hands went forward to stop their fall, just above his shoulders… Their eyes met in that rare instance ever since that evening and both held their breaths.

"Thanks."  Wufei muttered, conflicting emotions running through him.

"I-"

A louder explosion echoed from the back then they started to smell the telltale fumes of an even bigger explosion… The helicopter spun wildly and they were thrown to one of the walls. If they don't get out of there soon…

They scrambled to a stand, Ping's hands quickly going to the knot to untie it while Wufei checked their situation.

"I'm going to radio the base!" She shouted as she scrambled to the panel, trying to stay on her feet. She saw a flash of bluish light and heard the crackling sound that hinted on half the controls' damages.

From the other side, Wufei grimaced as he eyed only one parachute. There were three before. He checked. The others must have fallen off. "Shit."

"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. Red Base this is Minx, we have a problem."

Wufei took the parachute then looked out to check their altitude.

"Kuriko, our controls are down. I cannot give you a pinpoint location, but I want you to use the MIS to track down our frequencies-"

They were losing altitude fast. If it weren't for the makeshift wings, they would have plunged on the ground a long time ago. He didn't even have to think about anything else as he ran to the front, grabbed Ping away from the radio and pushed the pack into her arms. "Put it on now!"

"I wasn't able to give-"

"Now!" Wufei yelled as he twisted her arms into the straps, then without even giving her a chance, he pushed her out of the helicopter.

Ping's eyes widened as she looked down. Honed instincts made her pull the string and her parachute flapped open. Her breath came out in a gasp as the wind picked the cloth up, she tried to look for Wufei, but her parachute got in the way… until the black contraption came within her line of vision.

It was halfway burnt, wildly revolving without the balance that the tail gives, and Wufei was still in the front… 

She frowned, unable to believe her eyes. Why wouldn't he jump?! What was he trying to do?! Panic started to suffocate her, and she tried to hold on to control but she couldn't stop the shout that left her lips- "Wufei!!!"

**…**

He couldn't do it. He knew a lost cause when he saw one, and this was definitely one of those. If he jumped, it would be suicide, and if he stayed in the helicopter, he'd die. His body would probably never be revived, except for a charcoaled lump. 

"Either way, I die." His lips sarcastically tilted up. He glanced out of the window and saw Ping's green parachute, gliding over the trees. His feelings lightened. At least he was able to get her out. 

Would he feel the impact? Would he burn to death? He never thought that he'd die because of a malfunction. 

It made him angry and sad at the same time. A million thoughts fluttered in his mind. What he had wanted to do, what he would have liked to do… If he were in a battlefield, he wouldn't be thinking this way, but he's in a damn faulty helicopter. There weren't any other explanations but a malfunction… and because of that, he'll die.

The helicopter's nose tilted forward, and his eyes squinted through the sun's glare when he caught sight of something that just might save his life… or break his neck.

A lake. 

It was close enough. 

Smoke started to pour into the cockpit that made his eyes water. Reaching a decision, Wufei moved to the side entrance. The helicopter was above the lake now. If he waited longer, he would be out of range but he was still too high up…

He'll just risk it.

Clearing his mind, he looked at Ping's parachute, still gliding, while his hair whipped around him then… he jumped.

**…**

"No!!!" Ping screamed as she saw Wufei's plummet- without a parachute. He was too high. The impact alone could kill him! She could only watch until he crash into the lake just as their helicopter finally exploded on impact northwest of the lake.

She couldn't breathe. It was as if she was the one who was in the lake and not Wufei… The moment was passing and reason entered her mind. She would hope…

Her hands guided the straps to glide towards the crash, intent to save him.

"You better be alive, Chang…" Ping muttered under her breath, trying to keep her anger intact when all along she blamed herself. There could only be one reason why he didn't jump with a parachute- he didn't have one… He gave the only one to her and with the small altitude, the parachute cannot hold two people. "Damn you and your honorable hide."

Trees loomed in her line of vision and her hands went up to shield her face from the many branches and leaves. She felt cuts and imagined bruises then she suddenly stopped. Ping quickly opened her eyes and saw her feet dangling just a couple of feet away from the ground. 

Not losing any time, she unfastened her straps and instantly fell on her feet only to have her spring into a breakneck sprint. She was able to land just a few meters away from the lake. Mentally, she thanked her stars for her luck, and that she had on shorts instead of her full ensemble, but just as the thought left her, she tripped and fell down. Ping bit her lower lip to stop the cry of pain that wanted to leave her mouth from the sting she felt on her knee then she pushed herself up and ran once again with one thing in mind- she must get to Wufei.

She reached the lake, hopped on one foot then the other to take off her combat boots, and, finally, she dived into the surprisingly cold water. Her lungs burned and her legs ached. With a quick prayer to whoever was watching at that moment, she checked for Wufei's location… floating… face down… She spurred her limbs to move faster. 

How long had he been lying face down? How long does it take for lack of oxygen to damage the brain? 'Please God… don't let me be too late…' Memories of her parents, lying down on the sidewalk with blood around her assailed her thoughts. They had pushed her away, too… Pushed her and took the bullets themselves…

He was floating near the center of the wide lake, and she finally reached him… finally. Quickly, she turned him around, arranged his head in the desired positioned, then swam back to shore.

It seemed as if the shoreline was nearer this time… or was it because she has Wufei now. It still took her some time, though, and she knew it. When she felt the ground, she only pulled him halfway out of the water. He had been face down in the water far too long. 

Ping leaned over his nose and checked his chest for any sign of breathing for a couple of seconds and… saw that he wasn't. Her hands were shaking, and she could hear her frantic heart pound while she pressed her fingers on his neck, and… felt his slow, almost indecipherable heartbeat…

"Thank God!" The gasp came out and she wanted to bawl but knowing what she must do, she started the needed rescue breathing procedures.

Minutes later, she grounded her hand on the ground. "Wufei… breathe… please…" She leaned down and gave him another deep breath, pinched his nose, and her eyes checked for the slight upheaval of his chest.

She knew that it came through, that everything she did was correct… why wouldn't he- "Breathe! Damn you!" Her hands went to his shoulders and she started shaking him, not wanting to think of… the inevitable.  Yet after a few seconds more, her frantic actions stopped and she desperately tried to give him another breath…

'Please… not again… not again.'

Wufei slowly came back to consciousness. He could feel his head thrown back and forth and his shoulder ached where he had been hit… Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, his only line of air pinched from God knows what… and then something touched his open mouth… a soft, moist something that he instinctively knew was… her… 

Maybe it was because he was still slightly unconscious, that's why his tongue reached up to explore and his hands planted themselves on the back of her head so she wouldn't get away. When she tried moving, she found that she couldn't and he only plunged deeper with his exploration-

He was enjoying himself when a gasp of surprise left him and he was smacked back in reality while his lower lip stung with pain. He opened his eyes, squinted from the glare of the sun and saw an incoming fist intended for his face! 

Wufei quickly moved to his right while his left hand blocked the punch, then from the corner of his eyes, he saw another aimed for him. His left hand grabbed the hand he blocked while his right caught the other then he quickly looked up and saw Ping's outraged face.

She was so angry with him! Relieved that he was alive, but so angry! "You blasted son of a-" Ping grunted as she struggled in Wufei's firm hold. 

Wufei's eyes slanted. He was not sure what the hell was happening but the hold on his patience was gone. He tasted blood from his lips. She had bitten him. Granted, maybe it was because he didn't let her go when he felt her struggle, but- "What the hell is the matter with you?!"

Ping moved in an action he had seen a thousand times before and he bent his knee to shield his manhood. She had lost it! She was crazy! She was struggling like a mad woman, cursing and shouting names at him and crying at the same time but a look in her haunted green eyes made him check his angry mode.

She was still struggling though, and the only way he could think of stilling her was to- Wufei twisted his body and pushed his weight on top of her body. 

"What the hell is the matter?!" He shouted once again at her face. It was a bad move, and he saw it as her eyes glinted dangerously again before he was thrown to his back and she was on him in the same position.

"You're the matter, you ass! I should have let you drown!"

He had forced a peace between his mind and body. It was the only way he knew he could survive once he had hit the lake. But he also knew that he wouldn't have lasted long in such a state if no one had plucked him out of the waters. So… she had rescued him. Of course. Wufei rolled their weight again. "If you want a thank you- Thank you! There! If you're mad because I kissed you-"

"It's not because of the kiss you idiot!" 

Somehow, she was able to escape his grasp, and, once again, she was on top of him. Wufei didn't know whether to look at her in surprise or befuddlement! She straddled his lower torso and her hands grabbed at his damp collar to shake him like a rag doll… and he let her… God help him, he let her… 

"There was only one parachute left wasn't there?!"

Wufei frowned at her and she pounded her fists against his chest. There was more of an accusation than a question in her words.

When he didn't answer, she knew she was right. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?! We could have talked it over like reasonable human beings! Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I should be saved first!"

Wufei's frown deepened. So this was what it was about? "Well forgive me if I knew we were going down fast and that the parachute could only handle one person with that altitude! Forgive me for not arguing with you, which would have resulted in losing precious time, just to know who should righteously get the only means of escape!"

She stopped shaking him, but the hands on his collar were still in fists… then her head bent and her curls fell down over her face to hide her face. "You thought you were invincible… that's what you thought. You thought you could save the helicopter even though you knew, deep down inside you, that there wasn't any chance…" 

Wufei felt her hold slacken. He heard her breathe in deeply, tremulously. Maybe what she said was true… 

"You didn't have to save me, you know… you could have saved yourself…" 

Her voice was broken, and for the first time, he truly saw her in her weakest state… and it pained him.  His hand went up to her face and he tilted her chin. She looked so lost and hurt. The tears that streamed down her eyes traveled to his hand and he only acted upon instincts when he pulled her down over him… Her eyes met his openly, and then fluttered closed just as he gave her a tender kiss…

She pulled away slightly… "I don't like owing anyone my life."

He understood. Something had triggered this suppressed anger and pain… and his hands went around her to hug her trembling body against his. "I'm sure you've saved many lives, Ping… Who were they? Who gave their lives for you?"

Her head was anchored at the curve of his neck and the way he gently held her and combed back her hair… "My… parents… they went in front of me… pushed me away… they were the ones who got… shot… instead of me…"

"They loved you…" Wufei whispered as he thought of his own colony… of Merian's fight… of his mentor's sacrifice just to save him… "We cannot dictate the actions of another human being… In others, it's instinctive to save people, even if they know that the odds are against them."

She pushed herself up and met his eyes. He saw the need for comfort in them. "You knew…" He knew about the parachute…

Wufei nodded as his hand cupped the back of her head once again, then slowly pulled her to his lips. "Yes… I knew…" So what did that mean?  Her tears wiped against his skin and then he felt her body relax against his… He was only going to give her comfort… just that… 

Her hands went around his shoulders just as his went around her waist… their bodies meshed. Her legs slowly traveled down his torso to align her body to him and he guided her to a path that came to him…

**…**

He woke from the slight movement over his body but he was so comfortable that… he didn't want to wake up, yet… Something tickled him on his chest, and smooth skin bumped against his manhood-

Wufei's eyes snapped open and he stopped breathing. He suddenly became aware of a splayed hand on his chest, and a leg thrown over his lower torso, something soft with a small, button hard nipple against his left hand… his right hand around a curving waist… and an intimate part… against his hip…

He looked up at the moonlit sky… memories of what happened that afternoon assailed him… and it made him disgusted at himself to the very core of his being. He closed his eyes, tried to shut out everything around him, but he couldn't. She moved again, and he was suddenly free…

Wufei couldn't look at her… He quickly stood up, knees trembling from knowledge of what he had done to her, and then walked to the lake, though he knew that no amount of washing would ever make him feel clean, ever again…

He took advantage of her at a time when she had no control… He took when she probably didn't even know she offered! God! How could he have been… so much like… like…a… 

Man…

He stopped. The water lapped against his waist and he had the sudden urge to scream, but knowledge that she was sleeping made him plunge into the cold, dark water and scream his lungs out until they burned. 

He thought he was above and beyond… but no. He was a part of the lowest, vile, slimy, slithering ones. He wouldn't be surprised if she cursed him to the seventh gate of hell, for all he'd care. He'd accept it. He brought it onto himself. 

Wufei dropped to his knees again, let the water cover his whole body, and shouted his frustration to the fishes…

On shore, Ping observed him… his actions. She woke up the moment he left her arms, and she felt, more than she saw, his frustration… and she understood. Her honorable Wufei was punishing himself right now, thinking he took advantage of her… It was nice to know he felt guilty, but at the same time, she did not want him to. She was a big girl. She knew what she was doing.

He went under again and she stood and walked to the lake. By the time he broke to the surface, she was only a couple of arms away from him… He basked magnificently under the yellow moonlight, with water droplets glinting, and his damp hair reaching his shoulders… he looked just as handsome as he did in the mornings, though his back was towards her. She swallowed hard and decided to end his frustration. "Wufei…"

He stilled. His mind drew a blank except for one thing… the want to not turn and look at her. He was ashamed of himself.

Ping sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Thank the gods he was able to say it in his usual growl.

She rolled her eyes. "Wufei, we did something this afternoon…" She saw him cringe with the way his shoulders made that quick movement as if he was burnt, and she knew she was right with her assumptions.

Wufei bit his lower lip. He knew that they would have to talk about it… eventually. But he wasn't ready… Damn him! "Ping, I'm sorry… I took advantage of you and… I'm sorry."

She stifled a sigh of frustration and used an indirect route instead. "Oh… So, I guess that means you didn't enjoy it."

Wufei's jaw slackened from what she said and the moment he was able to move, he turned- "What?!" He instantly stopped once again. His gaze fell on her naked body… full for his eyes to see, and his manhood reacted, badly… It took an effort to look away and turn sideways to stare at the distant trees on the eastern side of the lake instead, but he was able to do it.

"Well, I guess this is better than talking to your back. You know how much I hate that." Ping hid a grin at his reaction.

"This is all just a joke to you, isn't it? You take everything in life like a joke- as if its child's play… well it isn't." Wufei muttered, cursing himself and his damn erection.

Her grin disappeared. "No… It isn't, Wufei." She kept her eyes on him. Was that how he saw her? "I live my life looking for a silver lining one day at a time. I work hard to be optimistic because I would rather meet the world with a smile than a frown." 

Wufei stiffened. He had hurt her again. Why couldn't he say something that's not stupid?! "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it that way."

"You are a surprise, Wufei. An apology twice in one night?"

Her teasing voice taunted him to look at her, but he didn't. "Don't get used to it."

"I won't." Ping answered back while her hand created small waves upon midnight blue lake. She could tell how hard it was for a man as full of pride as him, and she's willing to work it out. "Wufei, something happened to us this afternoon…"

"I already apologized…"

"Take it back." She watched his profile and noticed that flustered look. 

"What do you mean?" Wufei frowned at the trees. What did she mean?

"I don't want your apology. I wanted to thank you."  She saw his head make an action as if about to look at her again, but it was stopped.

Wufei didn't understand what she was saying! Why-?

"I was emotionally unbalanced this afternoon because you made me remember something that had taken me years to get over with. It just came back, and I was hit from my blind side. You gave me comfort, and I thank you. I'm fine now."

'What the hell is this woman talking about?!' Wufei mentally shouted at himself. "Aren't you… are you sure… I…" What was he going to say?

Ping smiled. She could be quite sure that this wasn't something anyone would often see from Wufei… "Won't you say 'You're welcome', Wufei?"

Should he? Why should he? Still… he found himself muttering- "You're welcome…"

She nodded. "Turn around and look at me."

Wufei shook his head. How could she ask that of him? She doesn't know what she's asking him to do… Damn his libido… Why'd he have to be attracted to her?!

"We're both reasonable adults. You've seen me naked, I've seen you naked."

What she said was true, and if he didn't turn and meet her, he would be a coward in both his and her eyes. 'Damn!' He was backed into a corner and he couldn't do anything but… to face her and force his eyes not to look at her body. He focused on somewhere above her head.

Ping stopped her hands from brushing her hair in an irritated gesture. "That's better…" She walked nearer to him, slightly embarrassed about her nakedness, but she took comfort in the fact that he was also in such a state.

Wufei swallowed, hard. She shouldn't come any closer… No… she must stop… What is she trying to do?! Her green eyes raked over him and though he was usually proud of his body, this time around, he wanted to hide it under the dark waters.

Ping stopped, just less than an arm's length away. The waters were to her waist, now, and she was beginning to feel comfortable being naked in front of him. "Wufei, I hope you won't mind, but I want to check something…"

He was about to ask 'check?', but before he could utter the word, her lips were upon him and… they reveled with each other's taste, though their bodies never touched each other save for their lips.

Minutes later, Ping slowly moved away. Her hair shone exuberantly with the moonbeams and she seemed more beautiful than ever to Wufei as her right hand went up to touch her lips, then to look at him with so much… meaning. And him? He probably had the same look in his eyes…

There was no use hiding from it now. He could be quite sure that she knew, with the way he kissed her back. His right hand reached out to touch her delicate shoulder and the soft smile on her lips encouraged him just as the way she touched his chest made him shudder…

Excruciatingly slow, his hand gently stroked her face and then he saw and felt her move… tilt her head up with eyes opened wide and lips slightly parted… an invitation he couldn't refuse and he closed the distance between them…

__

Sorry you guys, this fic is a little bit more risque than my usual but this is how it came to me. I've changed the rating into an R, I actually changed it when I started posting Wufei's stories, but I don't know why it didn't saved the new settings. My summer school is starting, and I hope y'all are enjoying this- so far! Take Care! Remember, my email is always open - oh! And my friend's website is going to FINALLY be up within the next 2 weeks. *crossing fingers for less* Ok, I'm gone. TC!…


	45. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 9

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Nine**

** by Heartfire**

*******

Funny how content he feels, just lying on their bed, made of the parachute's cloth, naked, with her in his arms. They made love- er… Wufei shook his head. He won't use that term… Sex? No… that's too shallow, and what they did was more than that… 

_It. _

That's all he could name what they did. They did _it_ until they fell asleep in exhaustion just as the first rays of the sun kissed the wonderful dark sky. Now, it hung overhead, and if it weren't for the trees' shade, he'd be squinting.

Wufei felt her move, stretch, and breathe in deeply. Signs of waking up, and he looked down on his chest to watch her eyes flutter, open then look up at him.

A smile lighted her face in response to that soft look in Wufei's eyes. "Good morning."

Her voice was husky, sleepy, and Wufei couldn't help but give a half grin. "It's afternoon."

She gave him a one-eyed dubious squint before she tilted her head to the sky and then looked back at him. A bare shoulder shrugged then she snuggled in deeper in his embrace. "So it is…"

Wufei gave a silent laugh. "Aren't you going to get up?" But even as the words left his mouth, his hands were already circling her shoulders.

"No… unless…" Uncertainty hinted at her voice and the sudden stiffening of her shoulders made Wufei want to take back those words. "You want me to get up…"

He shook his head. "No… I don't want you to," and he tightened his embrace around her body to accentuate that he truly meant it.

She stifled a sigh of relief as she rubbed her cheek over his nipple. "Good…  I'm not going to lie. I like it here…"

Her voice was soft, almost inaudible, but he heard it, and the tightening of his arms around her shoulders was only a part of his answer. "So do I…" He couldn't believe it, but the moment he said those words, he knew it was true. 

The soft rustling of leaves as a light breeze blew by was the only sounds while they lay in each other's embrace.

"What are we going to do after they find us?" Ping asked while her hands created patterns on Wufei's chest.

"I…" Wufei tried to think, but the way she was touching him so gently was making him lightheaded! He gave up. "I don't know." They're going to have a damn riot on their hands if their troops-

"We can't do this again, can we?" She didn't give him time to answer. "If they see us like this, they'd take matters into their own hands… not that they can't take care of themselves… but, it's going to be messy."

Wufei could almost imagine it. If his men were sexually active with those women, they'd forget their duties… "I know what you mean."

"So, after they find us, we'll probably never…" She left her sentence hanging. She didn't want to finish it because… was she beginning to be a nymphomaniac?! She doesn't want to release him from her embrace and she wants people to know… 'Oh dear Lord, what's happening to me?'

Wufei smothered a sigh of regret. He doesn't want to, but there was no other choice. "You're right."

They didn't speak until Ping moved to look at the sun. "What time do you think it is?"

"Around two." Wufei quickly answered while he propped a hand behind his head. "If they left yesterday, right after our call, I'm guessing they'd get here tonight or tomorrow morning."

"So fast? Funny… I don't want them to find us, yet."

Wufei smiled softly. "I know what you mean."

"Oh damn…" Ping moved away then sat up with her back to him while she gathered a portion of the chute to cover her body.

"What is it?" Wufei quickly sat up, surprised, confused, and plain missing her weight against his chest.

She glanced over her shoulder and gave a quick, embarrassed grin just as a loud grumble reached Wufei's ears. "I'm hungry. Care to help me look for food?"

The sudden panic attack that assailed him, disappeared and Wufei rolled his eyes instead. "That's it? Onnas!"

She just grinned her response, quickly jumped up then pulled the covers away from his body while she twisted the cloth around her own. 

Wufei, taken by surprise, could only stare at her in bewilderment before he noticed that he was naked for her to see.

"Mmm… You do look scrumptious, Wufei." Ping whispered as her eyes traveled from his chest down to his…

Wufei quickly grabbed the last trailing cloth to tug it over his suddenly erect manhood and Ping just laughed cheerfully as they did a mini tug-o-war. Then Wufei suddenly fell on his buttocks when she let go and the next thing he knew, she was running into the trees with her clothes in her arms, waving to him.

"See you in fifteen, Wufei!!! Look for yummy foods!"

Then she was gone. He could only stare where she had disappeared to, then he looked up at the sky and gave a groan. "Confusing… All of them!" Yet, why was it that he was smiling up at the bright sun?

**…**

Ping hummed as she glanced for fruits. Her hum slowly became words and then she was singing. Fully dressed, she opened her arms to the sun's rays and grinned.  She felt wonderful! But, God! Was she hungry!

She checked her shockproof watch and found that she had six minutes left. She must turn back soon… Her thoughts trailed off as she stared at a banana tree with delicious looking yellow produce for the picking. 

Laughter left her as she remembered a little conversation she had with Lauren. "This is ironic…" Then again, there's nothing else around, so either survive or die- and she'd rather survive. With that thought in mind, she started singing once again.

**…**

Wufei muttered angrily as he threw the brown, dirty, hard vegetable he found by pure luck in the air, and then caught it. Other than that, he didn't find anything. Around their camp area, there had been lots of vegetation, why was it that around this area, there wasn't any?

Wufei frowned as he neared the camp. His feet slowed, until he completely stopped, a couple of trees away from the lake. Branches and leaves obstructed his view, but other than that what truly froze him were the _howling_ sounds. Screaming, massacring whatever song it was that whoever was singing!

Slowly, he walked out of his hiding place, forcing his hands not to cover his ears and then found Ping, with her back to him. 

'It couldn't be…' Wufei thought as he neared the screeching frenzy. Each step he took was torture for his eardrums, but his disbelief was blown away when he saw her hips sway, and her fingers snap just as she patted the last crease on the chute. 'Oh God it's her!' 

A fleeting thought that a banshee would probably be better if put in a contest with Ping came to mind before he quickly walked to her. Without any other ideas as to how to stop her, he reached for her shoulder, had her turned around, and was kissing her before she could let out another ear jarring note she called singing.

Her hands slowly traveled up to his hair, and he mentally forgave her horrible singing as he enjoyed himself with her taste and touch. Slowly they drew away and Wufei felt a smile against his lips before he saw it on her face.

"Mmmm… what was that for?"

'To stop your singing.' Wufei shrugged lightly. "Just felt like it." The sudden gleam in her eyes should have warned him.

"Well, I feel like doing this." 

Wufei was suddenly pushed on his back then she was on top of him, her hands framed his face and he couldn't help the grin that lighted his face before her lips crushed his, then suggestively grinded her hips against his.  He wanted to put his hands around her buttocks and make them stay put, but before he could even do that, she had rolled away from him.

He watched with glazed eyes as she patted the dust away from her arms, then turned around and gave Wufei a wink that conveyed of more mischief to come. They were taught ways on how to seduce a man… she's going to have fun using all the techniques on Wufei and to see where his endurance would take him… maybe even drive him near the brink of insanity…? 

'Oh yeah…' She flipped her curly blonde hair over one shoulder, eyed the small section of fruit she brought back, then glanced back at him. "Wufei, did you find anything?"

From his pocket, he brought out the scrawny looking-

"Potato?" Ping nearly fell on her behind.  Instead, she gawked at Wufei, who was starting to feel sweaty.

"I do not know what is wrong with the vegetation around this area but it seems that most of the trees do not bear fruit around here."

Still with a bewildered look on her face, Ping nodded. "Yes. I noticed that, too."

"Stop looking at me like that!" Wufei muttered as he glared at her.

Ping quickly blushed then looked away. "Er… Sorry. I was just wondering how we're going to cook that thing. I mean, you picked a pretty good food group, and it fills people up quickly."

Still a bit angry that this was all he found, he crossed his arms over his chest in a cocky pose. "Well… I want to see what you found." 

Ping's blush deepened as she glanced at the fruit. "Ah… I think I brought a lot with me, so…" A remembered conversation with her friend made her want to laugh. "So, you're free to help yourself."

Curious, Wufei walked towards her then eyed… the bananas. He stared at them like they were from another planet, his veins nearly popping out of his forehead, then without even looking at Ping, he spoke. "I will not eat that for your enjoyment."

"Say, what?" Ping turned with a frown just as Wufei gave a very deadly glare.

Not wanting to stay in the dark any longer, Wufei told her. "I overheard your conversation with your… friend."

Ping's right eyebrow shot up. So, he knows. "Well! Your fault for being such an eavesdropper! If you want to starve, go ahead. I'm going to eat." That said, she plunked next to the fruit and grabbed one long, yellow, firm banana. Embarrassment flooded her. It was a pretty disturbing conversation, then again… he really shouldn't have been listening!

Wufei watched as she glared at the bananas. Suddenly, mischief shone in those once blazing green eyes and he nearly cringed. Why does he have the sudden feeling that he should high tail it out of there? "What are you thinking?"

"Me? I am not thinking about anything at all."

The too innocent look she gave made his skin crawl, and that cattish smile on her lips... "You are, too, so just say it."

"Well… if you really wanted to know…" She started to peel the banana ever so slowly.

Wufei's body grew tense. The way she was eyeing that fruit…

"This does look like an erected phallus."

Wufei grew hard as she pointedly looked from the banana to his crotch. Then he suddenly felt heavy as she, eyes still on his crotch, touched her tongue to the tip of the banana. 

"Mmmm… This tastes good…" She grinned inwardly when she saw that distinctive rise. 

The way she said her words… they definitely meant otherwise. He should just turn around and leave her alone in her insanity but he couldn't seem to look away as she seductively took another bit from the banana, but this time, she suckled it and made noises that only happens when… and with the way his thing was reacting… he could already feel a wetness…

He coughed then turned away. In a strained voice, he grumbled,  "You are one sick woman, Rossi."

Ping just grinned and took the whole thing lightly. "Why thank you, Chang. That means a lot to me."

Wufei's eyes widened, confused why she said that until that darn grin on her face and the way she looked down at his manhood again made him glance down, too. Ping's grin broadened when she saw a telltale blush on Wufei's cheeks.

"I'm going to eat my potato."

Her eyebrow rose. "How?"

Wufei's eyes glanced over to the helicopter wreckage and slowly an idea came to him. "I'll find a way." Then without saying good-bye, he started to walk away.

Ping frowned. "Wufei! I was just teasing! Are you angry?"

Wufei didn't answer, lost in his own thoughts. He was not mad at all. He was just very embarrassed. How could he not be able to control his body's reaction to her?!

"Wufei!" Ping called out once again before he disappeared into the forest, to the direction of the crash. She sighed then pursed her lips. "Well! Thanks for listening to me!" With a huff, she finished her banana in one swift bite then dropped the peel beside her. She didn't feel that hungry anymore but she still ate two more bananas, hesitated, and then jumped up from the ground. A frustrated growl left her as she stomped to where Wufei disappeared. "I hate that man! Where'd he gone off to, anyway?! He should have at least told me!"

**…**

Wufei felt slightly victorious when he found what he was looking for, a bowl shaped metal to boil the potato in. But as he reached for that piece of wreckage, the one beside it caught his eyes. He frowned slightly as his hand went to the one beside the concaved metal- it was a flat strip with a couple of holes…

"No…" He whispered to himself as he turned the metal that was almost his arm's length only for his suspicion to harden. He remembered those sounds he heard just before the explosion erupted, and if this was so…

Wufei dropped the metal and his feet took wings as he ran back to their makeshift camp, worried for a certain mischievous minx. Those people who shot at them might be around, might have taken her already…

The mere thought of her in danger spurned him to run faster, only for the object of his worries to suddenly appear in front of him. It was too late to stop and the last thing he saw before he collided against her was the widening of her eyes.

They tumbled to the ground and Ping took the brunt of the fall. Squashed under Wufei's weight, she almost couldn't breathe. Thankfully, Wufei quickly rolled to his side.

"Ping?" Wufei asked as he looked down at her shut eyes. With his speed, he knew he tackled her in a way football players tackle each other. But he didn't mean it! "Ping?"

Ping slowly opened her eyes to find those wonderfully worried charcoal eyes on her. "Wufei… I never knew you'd be so happy to see me." 

Wufei blinked in surprise. He was! Then she groaned as she placed a hand on the back of her head.

"That hurt."

He wanted to apologize but he only jumped from the ground then leaned over to offer her a hand. "We need to get back to camp and clear it."

Ping's eyes frowned as her head snapped up to Wufei. "What?" Her hand reached out for him and she was suddenly on her feet, being pulled by him.

"There were bullet holes on the helicopter, Ping." 

Wufei's information snapped her cold. They were shot down from the sky… There were enemies around… "But we need to stay around this area! Our troops will be here soon!"

"I know. We just need to clear camp and start moving. We'll wait for them a little bit more, then we'll leave."

Ping nodded. "Then let's go faster." She shook her hand from his grasp then ran alongside Wufei. He looked at her and saw the same determination he could feel and… it made him smile…

**…**

"Wufei."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he quickly looked up at Ping, her form shrouded by shadows, just like him. "What?"

"We never got the chance to eat yesterday, and you didn't eat today. You might be strong, but it would be better if you have something in your stomach." Ping offered a banana to him. "I promise I won't tease."

He couldn't read the expression on her face, but her voice sounded sincere enough. "Fine. If it's going to stop you from forcing that thing at me." He grabbed the banana from her hand and she, in turn, grabbed for the binoculars. 

"I'll be the look out." With a hand around the thin branch above her, she moved in front of Wufei who nearly gasped in surprise. She settled on top of the thick branch he was sitting on then moved back until Wufei's chest was against her back, and her buttocks was against his manhood. Then she took his free hand and wrapped it around her waist. "There… better."

Wufei's right eyebrow shot up while her curly hair teased his face. He was more than confused as to why she did this, but… he couldn't say that he didn't like it.

"Relax, Wufei. I won't be a bad guard. Eat up." She was concerned for him, but in a different way. They had been circling the entire lake only to settle in this tall, sturdy, narra tree just as the sun waved its goodbye. "I'm glad you found these infrared binoculars. I'm surprised it didn't break from the crash!"

She felt him nod and she leaned against him, content, while she eyed the wreckage for any sign of life. She smiled when the hand around her waist grew firm, and tucked her in some more. Sighed when she felt his chin on her right shoulder and she leaned her face against his. 

"That was a good banana." 

It was his way of saying thanks and she knew it. "I know."

"Go on and sleep. I'll wake you up when they get here." Why in the world did he say that when he didn't want her to go?!

"No. Thank you. I want to stay up with you." 

He nearly jumped in surprise when her hand went around his own on her stomach, entwined their fingers, then sighed as she leaned against him. 

"I'll keep you awake." The truth was, she would like to spend their last few moments together, like this…

He was sure that she would, in more ways than one. Without a word, he placed a kiss against her hair, a light one, not wanting her to know, but she still felt it. He wants to know more about her, had that deep urge. "Why is your name Chinese?"

Ping looked up at the dark sky, not a single star in sight. "People always ask me that question and I love telling it."

"Then, tell me." Wufei whispered against her ear. He half wondered how he could like to hear her voice so much when… she was so bad in singing.

"I was born up there. Colony L-7. My dad was a traveler, my mom was a novelist, and they both loved going around so much that they forgot the months, and when they landed on L-7, my mom had to be rushed to the hospital."

Wufei nodded, just to show her that he was listening while he looked through the salvaged binoculars.

"Well, that colony was having some electrical problems, and while my mom was inside the elevator with a nurse, they had a power surge and the colony lost power."

Mentally, he wondered how he was born, but then again… there was no use dwelling on something he couldn't know. 

"I was born inside the elevator with the help of one wonderful nurse named… Guess what it was, Wufei."

Wufei grinned. "Ping."

She nodded. "Ping. My mom said that she was calm and collected throughout the procedure."

"Do you know what it means in Chinese?" Wufei asked, just wondering.

Ping sighed while an unknown smile played on her lips. "Yes… Ice."

Ice… but she was not ice at all… she was fire, and Wufei was quickly burning. "What about your last name?"

"Rossi? My mother used to tell me that it meant rose."

'Ice Rose.' That alone was a good enough name. 'I wonder why she chose Minx, instead. Then again…' He looked down at her. 'She is a minx…'

"What about you, Wufei? Something about your past." She suddenly felt the stiffening of his hold. The tension in his arm, and she knew that he will not speak. Why?

"There's nothing to tell."

The cold hardness in his voice… She did not want it. She wants to take it away. Without another word, she turned her upper body around, placed her hands on the frame of his face then kissed him as tenderly as she could. She felt him grow relax and she slowly drew away to settle back in her previous position. "Nothing, still?"

Wufei checked, hands a bit shaky from that distracting kiss that he didn't even notice Ping frowned.

"Noth-" 

Her hand was suddenly over his lips, muffling his words while a quick 'shh!' whispered against his ear. "Listen, Wufei."

He heard it. The sudden quietness, those unnatural sounds… They looked over the thick branch they sat on then saw the shadows below. Wufei's lips quirked while Ping grinned. They looked at each other then slowly, their happy smiles faded.

"They're here." 

Wufei nodded. "Yes. It's time."

Their entwined fingers gripped each other first, then, both reluctantly loosened their hold. Her hand went to grip the branch in front of her so she wouldn't hug him while she stifled a gasp as he slowly removed his hands around her waist, then they were gone.

They didn't look at each other as they swung down from branch to branch then landed in front of their surprised troops.

"What kept you girls?" Ping asked cheerfully while Wufei glowered at his men.

"Took you long enough."

"Minxie!" Her team screamed as they gathered around her while Wufei's men snapped in attention.

"Sir!"

Amidst the questions and excitement, Wufei and Ping's eyes met. She gave a slight smile while Wufei gave a nod for whatever reason he knew not, then they both looked away…


	46. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 10

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Ten**

** by Heartfire**

*******

They watched as the IA's 'cleaners' took down the last traces of their camp_,_ then the two groups turned to look at their leaders.

Ping glanced at Wufei and nodded, prompting him.

With a message in his eyes just for her, he faced their teams. "Let's move out!"

**…**

They walked for days. Everyone was exhausted to the brink of unconsciousness, yet the two most affected were the lovers who were trying so hard to suppress their feelings. Physically, emotionally, and mentally tired.

They must go on, but if they do, they might end up a couple of men, and women, down. With a decision made, Ping walked to Wufei while he rested against a tree. With his eyes closed, he was the picture of utter relaxation. 

Damn the man.

"Wufei. Let's call it an early night for everyone. I think they deserve a break."

Without even looking at her, he nodded. "Fine. Go ahead and tell them."

Ping's eyes went incredibly dull. Why wouldn't he even look at her? "I… Fine." She held up her head and anger blazed in her catlike eyes. "I'll go and tell them."

The moment he felt her move away, he opened his eyes. It had been harder and harder to stay aloof… why was her pull to him so strong? Her announcement was met with joy, but he stayed where he was. The sky turned black, everyone except for the two guards and Wufei were in their bags, sleeping. Why couldn't he sleep? He's tired, too…

With a heartfelt sigh, he grabbed his backpack and set up his own bed, then lay down on it. The whole place was pitch black, save for the light of the full moon. They didn't dare to light a campfire as a precaution against their faceless enemy.

Wufei turned, twisted, and curled but he just couldn't sleep. Finally, he took his pack, got some of his spare clothes out, twisted them then inserted it inside his sleeping bag. When the two guards weren't looking he slipped out of camp and stayed within the shadows of the forest. 

His feet took him to Ping's sleeping bag and he saw the lump underneath. Wufei grimaced. 'How was she able to sleep?! _How_ could she sleep when I'm…' He couldn't finish it. Instead, with a heavy heart and shoulders slumped, he walked deeper inside the forest. 

They passed a small pond before and Wufei had taken the men out so the women could bathe. He could almost picture her naked body swimming in it- "Stop it!" He slapped his cheek. He shouldn't torture himself. 

With his quick eyes, he noticed that he was near the edge of the forest, about to reach the pond then… he stopped. Sitting by the edge of the pond, was Ping. He was suddenly caught in a wave of indecision. Should he leave? Should he announce his presence?

At that moment, he heard a sigh and before he could hide, she stood up and turned. Their eyes met and stayed. He could hear his heart pound and she almost forgot to breathe. 

"I thought you were asleep." Was that all he could say?! Was that it?!

"I needed a breath of fresh air." Ping's voice faltered. She had slipped out of camp to think, but she couldn't. All she wanted to do was to have him in her arms. How could that be? Why?

Wufei nodded. "Had enough?"

"Yes." Ping answered as she gathered her thoughts around her and forced her feet to move, to walk back and escape this suffocating instance. She stopped just beside him, stared straight ahead then closed her eyes. "Good night, Wufei."

She took a step forward then gasped when her wrist was suddenly encompassed in a vice like grip. Why did he stop her? It was the first time they touched since… had it been over two weeks? She didn't dare turn around.

Wufei cursed himself but he couldn't let her go. He turned to her and saw how her shoulders were so tense… how she was holding herself and he knew. "You couldn't sleep, could you?"

Slowly, Ping turned to face him. Her eyes showed how tired she was as she shook her head. "No, Wufei… I couldn't." She saw how his eyes softened. He looked up to the moon then down at her again.

"Neither could I." He wasn't sure why he was saying these things but… it all feels so right. His hand traveled down her wrist to entwine their hands together. She hadn't moved. In fact, her eyes were wide.

She couldn't believe it! Ping looked down at their hands and suddenly felt tears prick her eyes when she looked back at Wufei. 

A chilly breeze churned the leaves around them and she shivered in her small shirt and shorts. Wufei saw her slight action and he didn't think twice as he took a step towards her then embraced her small body. "Cold?"

Ping shook her head as she leaned against his chest, loving the feel of him against her. "No… not anymore." She felt that butterfly kiss on her hair and she nearly cried at its tenderness. "I missed you, Wufei…" His embrace and touch… How could she miss something this much when she had only experienced it in a brief moment of time?!

Wufei felt a smile tilt his lips and joy burst in his heart. He stepped back to tilt her chin up and to look down at her. "Me too, Ping…" Too much. They were together for only a day and a half. It was not reasonable at all…

Her eyes glittered against the moonlight, and a wavering smile lifted her lips. "Can't we have tonight?"

He had been wishing for the same thing and Wufei responded with an affectionate kiss on her expectant lips. Her hands went around his shoulders and he felt like shouting a victory. When she kissed him back, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

How they lay down onto the grass, he did not know, but he could remember every sigh that left her lips, every wonderful expression on her face, and every intimate parts of her body which he had been deprived of since that day, and so could she…

They held each other tight until the first rays of sunlight appeared against the horizon then, with renewed strength that came from within, they dressed, gave a parting kiss, and separately walked back to camp.

**…**

"Oh c'mon, you lazy bones!!! You're falling behind! Hussle! Hussle!" Ping clapped her hands to the others, turned, and skip-walked in front of her troops.

All the girls looked at each other wearily and grumbled.

"Sheesh! She's awfully chirpy today."

"Too chirpy, if you ask me."

"Wasn't she been down on the dumps lately like, a few days ago? Now this?!"

"I think it's that time of the month."

"Well, we're not the only one who's having a hard time."

Their eyes traveled to their right side, only to see Wufei, seemingly having a _wonderful _time yelling at his troops.

"What is wrong with you all!? You took a good rest yesterday! I could understand Blaksher's condition but all of you suck today!!!"

All the women cringed and looked away as the men's shoulders sagged some more, save for the last night's patrolling officer, Blaksher. They know that the boys wouldn't dare speak up, but they could see the confused and panicked looks the men gave each other and they could only sympathize from afar.

**…**

"Where's the Commander?" Hackett asked his nearest teammate, too tired to run around and look for their missing leader.

Josh frowned. "I think he's going over the route with Colonel Rossi."

"Oh… Guess this can wait-"

"Rene?" 

Hackett quickly turned at the soft voice and faced Christine, smiling softly. "Christine!" He couldn't help the blush that erupted on his cheeks.

"Yes. Uh… Sam- Samantha- asked me to get your supply records so we can check how much we have left."

"Y-yeah. Sure. I just finished it, actually… I was looking for the Commander."

Christine nodded. "He's with the Colonel, over there." She pointed to the eastern side of their camp and Rene saw the huge map that covered their superiors.

"I see." He looked around then pointed to the log that seemed private enough from both teams. "We could sit over there and talk."

"Fine with me. Let's go."

The other men raised their eyebrows and mentally 'hoorayed' Rene, knowing that Commander Chang has ears sharper than bats, while the women all grinned conspiringly. 

At the eastern side, far enough from the camp to have a private conversation, secluded enough with the help of the map in front of them, Wufei and Ping slowly drew away from each other, out of breath. 

"Uh… we… we were talking about the warehouse…" Ping whispered while she slowly, as though magnetically attracted, leaned towards Wufei, just as did, and their lips met once again. "Should we…" 

He couldn't help himself as his free hand cupped her right breast and tweaked its nipple. 

"… contact for supplies…?"

"Yeah…" Wufei's lower teeth grazed against her thoroughly kissed, sensitized lips, and she sighed then pulled away.

 "Wufei… we have to stop. They're awake. It's the middle of the day." With her free hand, she unwillingly took Wufei's teasing hand away from her breast.

A sigh almost left Wufei's lips before he willingly nodded, longingly looked at her lips, and then sadly glanced at the map that hid what they had been doing for the past couple of minutes. He lost control again. Damn him. But his self-recriminations stopped when he felt a butterfly kiss against his cheek. He turned and found Ping's smiling face.

"I know… I want it, too…"

Her words brought a half smile on his face while he followed the urge to put an arm around her shoulders while she placed hers around his waist, then leaned her head against his chest.

"So," Wufei cleared his throat. "We will make camp at the warehouse to wait for supplies."

"We'll contact them ASAP with the list." Ping added with a nod.

"Right." 

"I guess we have to go back and get those reports." She slowly moved away from Wufei only to find herself pulled back then intensely kissed. But before she could start making her moves, Wufei pulled away.

He looked at her then grinned proudly. "You look like you've been thoroughly kissed."

Ping's eyes slanted playfully, then she stomped her combat boots on his foot. She saw the slight widening of Wufei's eyes then grinned innocently. "And you look as if you're in pain." She saw Wufei's hands make a grab for her, but she quickly eluded them. With a triumphant smile over her shoulder, she walked away and waved her good bye. "See yah in camp!"

Wufei shook his head. Once again, he was assaulted with questions as to why he was attracted to her, why he acts so weirdly around her, and why in the world did he think it cute that she stepped on his foot! With a mutter, he pushed his hand into his pocket to bring his handkerchief out only to see that piece of cloth with Merian's blood in his hand. 

He sighed. Why did he suddenly feel guilty all of a sudden? Why was it that he never felt this way with Merian? "Merian…" Her whispered name was supposed to bring the memories that were his basis for emotional control, for his hard goals and morals that were a burden, but a burden freely accepted. Yet at that moment, he felt no burden, he felt no anger. Instead, he felt at peace and almost…joyous.

**…**

They were walking together, but neither one dared to look at each other.

"Kuriko." Ping shouted without a glance behind her. Christine quickly jogged forward, with the map in her hands. "Are you sure that Erica was able to contact the base?" From the corner of her eyes, she saw Wufei nod, then-

"Hackett!" 

"Yes sir!"

 The young man was suddenly beside Wufei and with half an ear trained on the men's conversation, just like Wufei was doing while Ping gave orders and clarifications.

"Colonel Une confirmed for 0700 tomorrow, sir." Hackett replied with a straight face. 

"Good."  Wufei turned to face Ping, "Colonel Rossi, distance check for coverage."

Ping turned to him with a small, courteous smile. "We are right on time, Commander Chang. We will arrive at the destination at 1730 hours."

With a quick nod to each other, they dismissed their subordinates and moved on, unaware of the looks everyone gave each other with the way the two commanders were working so… nicely together. 

They decided to camp at the clearing ten minutes away from their target as a matter of precaution. Sticky, tired, and hungry, they finally reached their destination, had their scouts check the perimeters, and then started camp set ups. 

Ping and Wufei's eyes met and stayed, then they gave a quick, subtle nod. Nearly at the same time, they shouted their commands.

"Wilmore! Guillory!"

"Tarra! Samantha!"

The four snapped in attention. They didn't need any more explanations with the obvious message from Ping's and Wufei's expressions. As they walked, northwest, Ping started to explain.

"We want to make sure that the whole section is secure. I want you to branch off while Commander Chang and I check the inside. Is that clear?"

The 'Yes Ma'am's' and 'Yes sir's' erupted. Ping and Wufei didn't have to look back once again to know that the four started to silently communicate which direction they would like to take. 

They saw the warehouse, a place where South India federal ground patrol could stop, rest, and communicate with the outside base, stark against the night sky, set with ten meters of space around, just enough for the small Kepter hewey that was going to bring in their supplies. Wufei suddenly placed a stopping hand on Ping's shoulder and she instantly complied.

"What is it?" There was something in Wufei's eyes… the slanted, wary look. She let her senses wander while a heightened feeling of expectation coursed through her veins.

Their subordinates all went into a ready position. Wufei couldn't help that disturbing feeling that was making his skin crawl. "Something's out there…"

The whispered words sent a chill up everyone's spine. Ping turned to look at him and their eyes relayed each other's message, then they looked behind and nodded. The six were about to disperse, when they heard something crack- a branch somewhere in the woods… somewhere near. Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass rang against the still night. 

Before they knew what was happening, violent explosions erupted from the warehouse then they were all propelled into the air! Eyes closed, some collided with the trees while others were thrown on the ground, a few feet away. 

Wufei, on his back, felt the ground shudder under him, that unmistakable aftereffect while Ping grimaced and forced back a cry. Heat seared against her skin, while her back ached from the force of impact against a tree. It hurt so much, but she must move. She opened her eyes and saw Wufei by her feet. He pushed himself up halfway just as she was able to control that aching pain against her back. 

Their eyes met, a million and one messages relayed, then he was suddenly on his feet and she was finally able to move away from the tree. Wufei looked behind him, to that dark cloud of smoke that erupted within the cluster of trees, while Ping glanced at their four troop members, all slowly gathering back their wits. 

The pungent air struck them and they nearly couldn't breathe. 

"Samantha! Tarra! Run back to the base and put them on Code Red! Tell Chris to contact the base!" Ping cried through a coughing fit. She only saw her two friends nod then ran towards the direction of their camp. She could hear Wufei give orders to the other two, and they dispersed also, then he was beside her. His eyes asked how she was and she could only nod.

"Can you make it?" He wants to ask if she was all right, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to show his true concern, even after he saw that look of pain on her face when she was seemingly pinned against that tree… The mere thought that they were going to go inside that warehouse in a couple of minutes more… No. He shouldn't think of it.

Once again, she nodded. "Let's go." There wasn't anything else she could say. They were trained for this. Even if she hadn't wanted to, even if a part of her would rather crawl under the warm comfort and security of her bed and just sleep, a part of her was obligated. 

Side by side, they ran to the site and found what they were already expecting- a burning pile of rubble. The clearing was helping to contain the fire, but it wouldn't be long…  Thoughts ran in their head- did the enemy think they were already inside? Or did they only mean to scare? 

Something stunk… a sickening stench… Ping had to cover her nose with a portion of her shirt while Wufei tried to keep his best to look unaffected. Accidentally, he glanced down, then frowned… on the soft muddy ground where they stood, he saw shoe imprints… "Ping…"

Ping looked down, and saw. The three shoe prints were headed for the burning rubble… 

Wufei bent down and touched the ground. "It's recent." He looked up and their eyes met. They both knew what it meant… someone went inside the warehouse…  maybe the one who blew it up… or the target… but either way, it meant that there was an enemy on the loose. An enemy they must find, and the target.

Suddenly, even with the roaring fire just in front of them, an eerie click came from within the shadows of the trees. Wufei's eyes widened and even as he shouted, the hail of bullets came raining down on them!

"Ping! Get down!" He was already on his knees but he stopped as he saw her calculated look. Before he could do anything, she jumped high in the air, over him, and started cart wheeling to- "No!" Wufei scrambled to his feet, cursing her to the farthest gate of hell just as she disappeared where the flickering yellow orange lights of a machine gun echoed.

Ping's eyes slanted as she aimed her foot against the nozzle. Why she did this stupid thing, she wasn't truly sure, but she hadn't wanted… she hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt… especially Wufei…

The machine gun flew in the air then landed safely on the ground. Sweat dripped from Wufei's forehead as he heard the sounds of grunts and gasps from within the trees. With the raging fire behind him, and Ping's fight somewhere in front, he started to run to her…

Every blow he showered her felt like steel against flesh. She was used to blows, but this was hard, unyielding… and… nearly inhuman! The fighter, still clouded by shadows, was good. 'Dammit…'

With a yell, she grabbed for the first opening she saw and her foot lashed out for the kill, aiming for that soft section on his neck, but the shadow just grabbed her foot mere inches from his neck and she saw his move before he could even apply it. Her mind screamed- 'No!' while her hands went up to cover her face with her arms, her eyes shut, prepared for pain, and yet… pain never came, then she was suddenly let go then pushed to the ground.

"Ping! Get out of here!" 

She looked up from the ground, and saw… Wufei…

"Why don't you think first before you make your decisions, you dumb woman!" Wufei shouted, glaring at the woman in front of him. He hadn't seen the eyes, nor the face, but he saw the intent in their opponent's actions. The man was about to deliver a fatal blow to Ping… and… if he was but a second too late… "Get out of here, now!"

Ping watched as Wufei fought against the man. He met each blow with one of his own… she could see it, a true fighter- the grace and lithe she had seen during his morning practices… so pronounced… but even while his command still rang in the air, she felt herself rise and attack from the side while Wufei and the shadow were locked in a block and a strike.

Her sweeping kick caught their opponent unaware and sent him sprawling to the light of the fire. A young man… healthy and strong… and with eyes as lifeless as those who were dead…

Ping nearly gasped. Wufei frowned, sensing what was wrong as clear as day, yet not knowing what it was. His hand grabbed for his gun, and he had it aimed for the man's head even before anyone knew it… Then from his left and right, Wilmore and Guillory came from the trees, reports at the tip of their tongue, stilled as they saw both commanders in form. It only took them seconds to bring out their guns and aim.

"You're surrounded!" Wufei shouted even when he felt no surrender from the one in front of him… The enemy seemed like someone of their age… So young. The man was still on one knee, but his eyes were downcast…then his head snapped up, along with his arm. Wufei only saw the glitter of sharp blade before it disappeared, heading for- "Ping!"

Wufei half turned and saw that she had moved too late. As if in slow motion, her shirtsleeve ripped by the tip of the rotating blade, her skin slashed, and her blood erupted from the wound.

Her anguished cry was enough to tear his heart, and the look on her face…! "Ping!"

"Wufei! Look out!" Her gasp and wide, worried eyes made him turn and he saw another blade, heading right for his heart! Wufei quickly eluded it. Almost out of balance, Wufei glared at the phlegmatic enemy. His hands were shaking with so much anger, so much that he wanted to pull the trigger… but he wasn't even given that chance as the enemy produced one last knife… then slit his throat…

Ping's eyes widened and she quickly looked away even before the body touched the ground, but the three other men couldn't look away…  Wufei felt confused glances upon him from his other two subordinates, but he himself had no answer to give… What could cause a person to just take life so… carelessly? He knew that drive, once. No care for oneself save for the mission… but this was different. The man, his eyes… they were different. Wufei forced his eyes to look away, and they fell on Ping, a hand clutched on her bleeding upper left arm, and he went to her. 

"Sir! All clear around the other area…" Guillory's voice, usually so cheerful, held that shock.

Wufei only nodded, his hands already tearing a piece of his shirt. "Make another round." Even his voice had lost its haughty tone. Was it because that man's suicide- he could only call it that- affected him so much?

"Yes sir." 

He heard them move away then he was alone with her. She wouldn't even look at him in the eyes! 

"I've seen so many deaths… but this one was… different…" Ping whispered, her voice held the chocked sobs and silent cries her heart was exuding. 

Wufei could only nod. "Let me fix your wound."

"Thank you…" Ping whispered as she felt his gentle touch on her arm. "It's a light scratch. I'm fine."

"You're still bleeding." Wufei countered, but he could already feel the numbing shock leave him, replaced by anger. "You are one damn, stupid onna!"

Ping gasped as her head snapped up to him. Then she saw… it… whatever it was that she couldn't explain while he tended to her wound… She felt the tight knot on her wound and she grimaced, but she didn't cry out. He was trying to punish her because of what she did, but… he had also been tender… He was worried for her, and more…

"Wufei…"

Her whisper was his undoing, as he grabbed her face with both his hands, then crushed her lips. "Don't ever do that again you dumb woman!"

She kissed him back, and finally understood why she had been so reckless… It was bad… worse than she could have expected… She was in love with him…

**…**

"Wufei…?" Ping whispered with her hoarse voice as she offered her jug of water to him. He looked… horrible! Well, actually, everyone does, including those rescue operatives both the IA's and Preventers sent from around the quadrant area to fight the fire that swallowed up a few miles of land.

Wufei readily accepted, thankful for the offer. He was thirsty and tired. His skin stung with burns and his hair was singed. His whole outfit barely showed the green under the black soot, and he knew that everyone was feeling just as bad as he was. "Were you sure you were able to drink enough?"

"Yes." Ping nodded as she sat beside him on the grass. The forensic team had been scrounging the area, and the warehouse since three hours ago, as soon as the fire hazard was down. She was dreading the time when they would suddenly show up and give their reports.

He looked at her and saw the soot under her nose that almost looked like a moustache. She doesn't look so great. In fact, she looked the worst today. Her very curly hair was damp and she had sported bruises and cuts all over her exposed arms and legs… "You look terrible."

Ping's head snapped to him and Wufei grinned inwardly at the sudden green flame that erupted in those catlike eyes. Women. They're so easy to tease.

"You don't look so good yourself!" And here she was trying to be nice, not telling him that he looked horrible! She shouldn't have held her tongue and gotten it over with! With an angry huff, she stood up, intent to leave and hate him.

Wufei glanced around. The medics were checking his men and Ping's squad, and enough trees surrounded them…  He reached out just in time to catch her balled hand, she turned and glared at him, her pout so obvious even under that soot covered face, then he had the pleasure to see her eyes widen when he suddenly tugged her and she fell on him.

Her face nearly collided against him, but thankfully, she was able to stop herself. She was on her hands and knees while Wufei was leaning back, a smug smile on his lips that just angered her some more. "Wufei-!"

His lips smothered Ping's reproach and all the anger gave way to passion. Once again, they found comfort in each other's arms… and heat that was greater than the fire they had just put out. Slowly, they moved away from each other, and he saw a mirror of his own feelings in her shining eyes.

"Don't think that I'm not angry at you anymore." Ping whispered dangerously, though not as determinedly. 

Wufei just shrugged as his usual look covered his confusion. "Go get your wounds cleaned up."

Without another word, Ping stood up and turned away. She felt guilty for wanting him at a time like this, but… Damn! Who could truly dictate their emotions? She was halfway to the clearing, of charred tree trunks and black grass, when she heard her name.

"Rossi…"

She didn't turn around. At that moment, she was on the brink of wanting to make love with him and needing to be with her squad to help in any way.

Wufei saw her stop and for the life of him, he didn't know why he even called her name except that… visions of her hard work, even with that cut on her left arm, came back to him. "You did good, Rossi…you did good." 

It was said in barely a whisper and in his usual indifferent tone, but his eyes made her heart sang. Tears, probably from the stinging smoke that still oozed from nature, came to her eyes and she only nodded curtly. "They'll be finished with the others soon. Don't forget to get your wounds cleaned up before infection sets in."

Wufei nodded even if she couldn't see. "I won't." She walked away the moment she heard her answer and he was left to brood. Half his mind tried to analyze what had happened today with the fire, while the other half tried to understand why he kept an eye out for her the whole time they fought fire. Why he made sure that he was always near her in case something happened… Why in the world he wanted to rush to her side when he saw her stop a painful look after a burning branch fell on her arm. And why in the world was he still attracted to her when she had a soot-made mustache!?

His hand automatically brought out his treasured token. Merian's blood was dull against the dirty white, but it had always been bright before, at least, to him. Why was it dull now? 

"Merian… I hate you women." He grumbled under his breath as he slumped his shoulders.

"Commander Chang!" 

The shout came where Ping disappeared to, and Wufei quickly straightened. 

PJ came to view, his arm, from wrist to elbow, bandaged. It made him cringe that he had placed so much attention on Ping while so little to his own men… He was not like that. He wasn't!

"Colonel Rossi asked for you to report to Lieutenant Grayson, sir!"

The medic… He should have known that she'd check up on him and remind him to go to the doctor. He hates it. Hates it so much when women puts their dang noses into his dang business… Yet, if he hates it so much, why was there that warm, happy feeling in his heart at the mere knowledge that she wants to make sure he was all right?

Not showing his train of thought, he stood up from the grass and started for the clearing. "Let's go." 

**…**

He had felt her eyes at the back of his neck while Mike applied the last coat of salve on his arm, the bandage, and then he was done. 

"There you go, Commander. If I remember your records correctly, you're a fast healer." The cheerful elderly doctor was met with a scary scowl, but having been in and out with patients of various temperaments, he just shrugged it off. "Make sure that you change your bandages."

Wufei just grunted. Without turning around, he checked the quality of his half bandaged left arm. "Are you just going to stay there and lurk?"

Mike frowned, confused. "Excuse me?"

"He was talking to me, Mike." 

Her voice came from behind, just as he knew it would. He was pretty anxious to see how she looked like, with her wounds all dressed, hiding distinct red lashes of burn on her golden skin.

"Hey, Ping. I didn't even see you there!" Mike gave a cheerful grin to her before he turned away to pack his supplies.

"I'm glad you didn't give Mike any trouble, Commander." She sat in front of him and nodded her approval at the Preventer's doctor's work. "I was almost hoping to hear Mike's frustrated scream."

"Not going to happen, Ping." Mike answered as he ruffled her hair like a big brother would. "I'm used to him."

Wufei nearly smiled at the pronounced grimace on Ping's face. 

"Stop that Mike! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"You looked like it when I was wrapping your wounds!" Mike countered cheerfully as he neared the door. 

Wufei snorted a laugh when Ping's eyes blazed.

"I did not!" 

"Whatever you say, Colonel! After all, I'm just a humble Lieutenant." Mike waved before he stepped out of the helicopter.

"Just be happy you're a Preventer, Mike! If you were an IA, you'd be demoted!!!" She didn't finish her words and grumbled instead.

"You're acting like one right now, Rossi." Wufei couldn't help the tease that left his mouth, acquiring him Ping's glare.

"I am not!" Ping nearly screamed as she stuck out her tongue at him, completely contradicting what she said.

Wufei couldn't help himself and before she could pull back, he had her in his arms, his lips on hers. She couldn't stop as her hands slipped to the back of his neck to pull him down, but he stopped a breath away, just close enough to nip at her and hold her at the edge of expectation as he flicked his tongue over her lips. He was torturing himself, doing this, but he wants to be gentle with her, after going through such a harsh day. Besides, he's still in control… he just wants to see if… if she's okay.

He smiled when she tried to pull him down, but he resisted, and instead, he moved his lips away to touch her neck, her shoulders… down to her left arm where a new bandage reside in place of the small piece from his torn shirt. "Does it still hurt?"

Wufei kissed the bandage and Ping felt her heart just burst. How could he be so gentle when he was such a hard headed, pain in the ass man a little while ago? She doesn't want him to know how she feels, and to cover that fact, she trapped his face with her hands then pulled him up.

"You're the one who's going to be hurting if you don't start kissing me properly." She whispered dangerously before she crushed his lips with hers to both punish and reward.

Her mouth was sweet against his and filled him more with desire. Abandoning more control than he had ever done so within the dangerous area of many eyes and ears, a hand slid around her lower waist to lightly touch her bottom, while the other grazed her breasts. They clung greedily against each other, driving each other mad with each stroke, each touch, each breath… when a loud clearing of a throat told them that they were not alone.

Both quickly pulled away from each other as though electrified, and their eyes met Mike's dark blue ones. With an eyebrow raised, he gave one last clouded look over the two, and then started to walk to the makeshift table behind Ping.

"I forgot something." Mike's cheerful voice jarred Ping's and Wufei's shocked mind. Wufei's eyes turned a glare towards him while Ping could only look at Mike's helplessly.

"By the way, F-team is about to come in here to have a chat with you both. I suggest, as your doctor, to put a little distance in between."

"Mike-"

Wufei's dangerous voice was overturned by Ping's soft ones. "Mike, you won't tell on us, will you?"

Mike faced them once again, a bottle in hand, to observe what they don't know. If their secret was revealed… those two would have a lot to fight against. But, he likes this frizz haired girl, and he admires Wufei so… he grinned. "My patients have their rights to privacy… I'm a married man, you know… I know these things happen. Besides, both of you are old enough." With one last wave, he alighted from the helicopter.

Ping glanced at Wufei and saw his shaking fisted hands. It hurt her to see him fighting it so, but she will not show it to him. "Don't worry… I don't think that Mike will tell…"

He couldn't believe it! He had been caught… with her! Not in control… he was ready to take her right there and then… he couldn't stop himself! He is so angry with himself… so very angry. 

"Wufei…?" Ping whispered, wanting to touch him, but knowing that she shouldn't, she could only sigh. She understood, but it was all so frustrating! Why couldn't he… Why was it so shameful for him?!

"Commander Chang, Colonel Rossi. We need to talk to both of you…"

Two men in full white uniform, slowly took off their gloves as they waited for the two superiors to invite them inside the helicopter. Wufei nodded just as Ping did, and they entered.

She had always wondered how people in their area of expertise not become disgusted with the things they see… She couldn't even look at that man's body! The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

"Subject A appears to be completely normal. There were no traces of drugs, or any device on his body." The taller of the two said, rather coldly while Ping gripped her hands together.

"What did you find in the area?" She asked, her voice strong, though she was trembling inside. She was probably more tired than she thought…

This time, the two men looked at each other anxiously and Wufei's eyebrow rose.

"Well? Colonel Rossi asked you a question." His voice was as hard and cold as ever before. His previous confusion and anger, now like embanked tongues of fire.

The shorter of the two, obviously the more experienced, stepped forward. "There were two bodies found within the area. Both are completely burned."

"How far away from each other?" Wufei asked as he pushed the bandage on his arm in a way that wouldn't make him want to scratch it.

"Not very far at all, sir." 

"They were actually… holding each other."

"Holding each other?" Ping swallowed as she felt her mouth become cottony. Were those two innocent victims? Or were they someone who was supposed to die because of a crime? "Please explain."

"They were hugging. Probably the other was protecting the smaller bodied one." The taller inserted.

"We have to bring them back to the lab to be able to verify whose body they were. Though I'm a bit afraid that we won't have any records of them."

Before Wufei could say anything, Ping stood up with a determined look. "I want to see the bodies." She doesn't know why, but… the mere fact that the bodies were holding each other, protecting… it tugged something different in her. The man they had fought earlier that day would never have done such a thing, He was too lifeless and cold, and yet those two… "I want to see them."

The two doctors nodded. "Follow us, Colonel."

Wufei, feeling forgotten, angrily stood up and followed the group as they stepped out of the helicopter to go to one of the other five helicopters around the scene. The firefighters were converged in the area with two helicopters and Mike seeing to them, the next few yards showed tired looking pilots, and the last one was deserted with two black bags on the ground…

He saw Ping's steps falter, but she kept her head high in the air and didn't stop. It was confusing. Why in the world does she need to see the bodies? They reached the zipped bags with a note attached to them and Ping drew in a deep breath. The two leaned beside the one to her left, and she followed. She had never seen a burnt body before…

The sound of the bags being unzipped was like a foreboding song, and then the air around them suddenly stunk in a completely different manner. She looked down and she felt her stomach churn. Her hands went to her lips to clamp them, to stop whatever it was that was going to come out of her lips.

They seemed as if in so much pain, yet the way the arms were wrapped around each other… trust…

She suddenly couldn't breathe. She could see black spots with her vision… she tried to keep afloat. She will not. She will not faint like a… like a- with a muffled cry, Ping turned around and ran to the opposite direction. 

Her subordinates all looked at her in bewilderment, and Wufei… couldn't understand but- "No. Stop." He heard himself mutter when he saw two of Ping's friends start for the direction she had ran off to. They looked at him with anger, as if he was making them do something they do not want to… or maybe he was. He had been with the IA's long enough to see their deep loyalty thrive through friendship. "I'll go." He'll go… He wants to be the one to comfort her.

He walked sedately to where she disappeared to, but when he was sure that the trees and shadows covered him, his pace became faster. He didn't know which direction she had gone off to-

Wufei stopped. He could hear something…  Trusting his instincts, he moved to his left and followed the sound. It didn't take him long to find her. She was huddled at the base of one tree, on her knees and… retching and sobbing at the same time.

He didn't talk. Instead, he quickly moved beside her, and with his right hand, started to stroke her back. 

"Get away from me…"

Ping's mutter before she threw up again rattled him, but he didn't move. Why? Why must he leave her when she was like this? "No. I won't."

"Leave me alone! I don't want you to see me like… this…" She gasped then that gagging sound she made wrenched his heart. He hates to see weak women… how often had he said that to her? If she even wants him to feel more inclined to her, other than sexually, then she does not want him to see her like this. 'It isn't fair. It isn't fair! It's just not fair!!!' She mentally screamed and more tears appeared in her eyes. Finally, tiredly, she curled over her knees and wrapped her hands around herself. 

She looked as if she was carrying the whole world on her shoulders… as if she was so depressed and troubled. He couldn't understand why, but he doesn't want to leave her side. He wants to be there for her. It shook him, confused him, but right now, Ping needs him… and he will concentrate on that need… He will sort his feelings out later.

Without a word, Wufei wrapped his arms around her body to at least bring comfort. She tried to struggle at first, but it was a short one, and she finally let him hold her as he wanted to. "Weak onna…" 

His voice was soft and without a hint of reprimand, but the words… Ping stilled in his embrace. She was about to push him away when she felt a kiss on her hair, completely confusing her. His actions conflicted with his words… the way his firm embrace held her… the way he pressed his cheek against her hair after that butterfly kiss… She could only mentally sigh his name as she finally gave up her struggles and let him comfort her with his touch.


	47. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 11

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Eleven**

** by Heartfire**

*******

'Room 818…' She stopped in front of the large closed mahogany double doors. Maybe she should turn back. Maybe she was worrying too much, but… No. With so many wrongs in the world, it would be better to question than ignore when one was feeling as anxious as she was.

With a deep breath, she opened the door to the room and her sharp gray eyes took in the office space. There was a secretary's desk right beside the room. An efficient looking woman stared at her computer, until she looked up and nodded at her curtly.

"Hello. May I help you?"

Her mouth suddenly became parched. What should she say? She's here because she's worried?! "I…" Her voice sounded like a squeak. What is wrong with her? This is only one person. She had always been at ease with people! She pushed her shoulders back, walked closer to the table, and tried again. "I am looking for Colonel Une."

The secretary looked at the woman again. Her clothes were decent. She had an honest face, wavy mass of brownish red hair… She didn't seem like the kind Colonel Une would usually talk to, but… "What is your name?" Her fingers typed in some commands and Une's schedule came out of the monitor.

"I don't have an appointment." She almost choked! The look the secretary gave her was that of complete indifference right after she said those words, and she wondered if she should have lied instead.

"I'm sorry, miss, Colonel Une is very busy right now." 

"Oh…" What else could she have said? But… Darn it! She wants to see Une! "Are you sure?" Those gray eyes pleaded with the secretary, but it didn't even made a chip on the ice. 

"Yes. I'm sorry."

Her hands gripped each other as she looked at the last door on the wall behind the secretary.  She was so near… So near only to be shooed away! She closed her eyes then nodded. "All right… I understand…" 

The secretary nodded without looking back at her. With full attention upon the computer, the visitor half turned, about to walk to back where she came from, but… out of nowhere, she made a quick decision that sent her running to the other door, while the secretary scrambled out of her chair.

She opened the door- Thank God it wasn't locked!- then hastily went inside. Her eyes caught sight of large windows before she was suddenly jerked back by a heavy hand, clamped around her wrists.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Let go! I need to talk to her!" She struggled against the expert hold, though she knew her fight would be short lived.

"Jeanette? What's going on here?"

The soft, yet condescending tone, came from their left side, and both women quickly turned around only to find a brown haired woman of elegance and grace, staring at them with frowned eyes.

"Ma'am, she went inside without permission and-"

"I don't care about permissions! Trowa's missing! That's the only thing I care about right now!" She was screaming! Oh God, she was screaming but… she just couldn't… she can't lose Trowa again, not knowing what happened to him… left in the dark like this… She saw the brown haired woman signal to the person behind her, then she was let go.

"Leave us." It was a soft command…

"Yes ma'am."

Yes ma'am… That means… Her eyes riveted back to the woman who was now walking towards the table. That means- "Are you Colonel Une?" She asked just as the door behind her closed.

Une sat on her chair then waved to the seats in front of her. It was an open invitation to this woman who knew one of the Gundam pilots, and she willingly accepted. The sigh that left the visitor's lips showed how much she appreciated taking off the load from her feet. "Who are you?"

Intelligent gray eyes met clear brown ones. "My name is Catherine Bloom. I'm…" What is she? What is she to Trowa? "I'm… Trowa is like a family to me."

Une's hands met and curled. So this was the famous Catherine Bloom. Quatre had spoken a lot about her, saying that she takes care of Trowa. Her concern seems true enough. "Why are you here?"

The moment she uttered her question, those gray eyes grew dim and troubled. Cathy looked down at the hands on her lap, then up at Une once again. "He promised that he would write every month since he left seven months ago… It's now two weeks over from when his last letter's due… He's always prompt, but there's still no letter… I…" 

Her eyes became tearful once again. She was babbling, but she couldn't help herself. "I love him like a brother. When he left the first time, I was worried sick. I couldn't sleep or eat properly, then I found him. He lost his memory. He looked so lost and scared… I… I can't go on with my life not knowing what happened to him!" Her hands reached out and grabbed the edge of the table while tears shone in her eyes. "I would rather learn that he's dead and know that he is buried, than be left… plagued with such unbearable thoughts."

Une took in Cathy's shaking hands, gripping her table. Cathy was prattling, but that was understandable. She could feel so much from this woman. She could understand love. She could understand family. Her cousin was the only one she has left in the world, other than Mariemaia, and there was never a time in a day when she would be beset with images too horrible to think… 

"I… I don't know if you understand… I just hope you do… I can't put it in any other words…" Cathy's trembling voice reached Une.

Yes. She understood exactly what Cathy meant. She leaned over and touched Cathy's hand to show that she did, and to give her strength. "I will help in any way I can. We'll keep our eyes open."

She could see sincerity in her eyes and hear it from her voice, so she nodded. "Trowa said that you could be trusted… I can see why…"

Une smiled softly. "Thank you. Is there any way we could contact you?" With her other hand, she had already reached for a pad and pencil. 

Cathy nodded as she accepted them then wrote in it. "Here. Thank you."

"It's all right." Une looked at the piece of paper, reminiscing some of her childhood days. There was a time when she wouldn't have understood Cathy… but now… 'I understand all too well…'

**…**

Wufei sighed as he dropped on the ground near the campfire. Everyone else had gone to sleep- or was trying to sleep… One could feel the tension radiating from everyone, thick as… as… 

'Pea soup…' Wufei nearly smiled as he said one of Relena's usual sentences. His eyes drifted to Ping's sleeping bag, over her form, and wondered- 'I wonder what you're doing now, Relena…' Was she having fun with Heero? 

He tried to picture a laughing Heero, but it was too hard to conjure. With another sigh, he stood up, ready to help do the rounds with their quadrupled guards. He just couldn't sleep. 

Halfway to one of the sentry location, an urgent whisper reached his ears. 

"Commander Chang!"

Wufei turned and saw Josh sprinting to his direction. The subordinate reached him, and through extreme training, didn't forget to salute. "What is it?" It was the middle of the night!

"There's someone who wants to talk to you on the vid phone, sir."

His eyebrow shot up. He just talked to Une a few moments ago and told her about the bodies in his report… "Who is it?"

A blush appeared on Josh's cheek, shuffled his feet for a few seconds and then bowed his head. "Ms. Relena Dorlian, sir."

Wufei's jaw nearly fell. He was just thinking of her a few minutes ago! With a nod, he started to walk to one of the helicopters, still grounded. They've set up radio control in it, and their supplies were loaded in case of any sudden need to depart. 

He entered the helicopter, saw Christine, and nodded to her. "Take a break." 

Christine nodded. She knew that he really meant- 'Get out of here, I don't want you to hear.' So she stood up and nodded. "Yes sir."

Wufei made sure that no one was around then he walked over to the monitor that showed… Relena's-

"What the hell happened to you?!" He nearly bellowed! Relena's eyes were dull and the bags under them were so pronounced, not to mention that her face looked ghostly white! He saw her lips tremble to a smile, and some light sparkle back to life in her eyes.

"Well, hello to you, too."

"I do not waste my time with cordialities- dammit!" Why was he so concerned anyway?! "Isn't Heero taking care of you?! Aren't you supposed to be relaxing and… and… Hell, onna! You look like you haven't slept a week!"

At that comment, Relena grimaced. "I guess that means I look terrible. Oh well… Guess it can't be helped."

Wufei's eyes slanted. "Onna, you better tell me what's going on…"

"You're such a bully Wufei… But I guess that's why I called you…" She looked down and Wufei fell silent. Her voice had grown hallow, as if she had given up on life, but when she looked up again, there was an unusually cheerful smile on her face. "Wufei, I've decided that I don't love Heero anymore."

A wild dog's howl echoed from somewhere… the insects' nightly song disappeared… Wufei couldn't believe his ears… For such a long time, he had admired that love… he had thought that Heero was undeserving of that love… and now-

"What did he do?" His hands tightened to fists. Heero must have done something! Relena isn't the kind of girl… "What the hell did that Yuy do to you?!" 

Relena quickly shook her head. "Nothing, Wufei… He didn't do anything… It was just time that I faced reality."

She was lying. She knew it, and he knew it… Why did he suddenly want to be beside her when her eyes sparkled with unshed tears? Why did he want to wrap his arms around her, to comfort her as much as he could? He had always thought of her like a little girl… a little girl who was trying so hard to be grown up and strong, but right now she was a woman. His fisted hands shook… Heero Yuy did do something to her… He broke her heart…

Relena was the first person he had ever told about his wife… She had irritated him so much that he couldn't stop the barrage of curses and memories… She was there to hear him say as though it didn't affect him, but she knew… She knew and she had held him… He never truly experienced the comfort an embrace could give, but she showed it to him, though he didn't understand. He was stunned… he didn't embraced her back but she also knew why… He saw it in her eyes.

"You can't just decide on that, Relena…" 

She shook her head. "I am the master of my fate… you told me that, Wufei. I have a strong will and a drive. I will make it through. Besides, weren't you the one who told me to move on with my life countless of times before?" Her tone was a sad rendition of exuberance.

He did… he did tell her that… but this was different… Wufei frowned. 'Why was it different?' Why was it that he doubts those words now? "Relena-"

"Wufei, don't… Please…" Relena reached out to touch the screen. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm tired of the subject."

His mouth opened and closed, but he knew that look well enough… "Fine. If that's what you want, Relena, then nobody can make you change your mind."

Relena smiled softly. "Thank you… I miss you, Wufei. You're the best bullying kind of friend I've ever had. You're like an overprotective older brother."

He nearly smiled at that word but chose to scowl instead. "Onna! You stop saying that!"  He received the pleasure of seeing her smile genuinely this time.  Was it over seven years ago when she said those words about him to Quatre? She was in a hurry, her train of thought ran faster than she could speak and she said brother instead of bodyguard. Yes… he was probably like a big brother, and she was like an irritating, loveable little sister…

"I miss your screams." Relena wistfully said.

"I don't scream." Wufei's lips drew into a thin line.

"Oh yes you do."

"No. I. Don't!"

Relena's smile became wider, but the sadness in her eyes was still dominant. "You nearly did."

"Did not!"

Relena's laughter made him grin, but he kept that scowl on his face. That's exactly what he meant when he said Duo and Hilde had their influence on her… well, Quatre does tease him that way some times, too.

"When will you finish?" 

Her question hung like a huge storm cloud over him… Why did he suddenly felt threatened? Dreadful? Anxious…? "Soon…"

"All right… soon. I have a conference tomorrow, and I still cannot think of how to end my speech."

"You'll think of something." He was sure of it. 

"I have to go. I can hear Hilde and Duo arguing from over here."

As expected, Wufei's eyes darkened. "Duo is still there?"

"Now, don't you start. I'm glad they're here. They're helping me."

"Wait until I get my hands on him…" He cracked his knuckles, already imagining an expression on Duo's face.

"Do that when you get back here-" She looked behind her then back at him. Her voice notched a tone lower. "Good bye Wufei. Please take care. I don't want you to get hurt."

Then she was gone. The monitor, a dark blue screen once again… "Take care, Relena…" Another conference… Will the assassin be there? "Yuy… you better do your job right tomorrow…"  With one last look at the monitor, he turned away and wondered… why he dreaded going back…

He passed by a few huddled forms under the bags, then stopped at the foot of one, with curly, golden hair to tell him who it was… Ping. He's going to have to wake her up later to change shifts. Wufei felt himself relax then with a sigh, he started to look for the sentries.

**…**

Une hastily dialed the number on the paper while her other hand pushed a button on the television remote control. She just came from the labs… and the conversation she had with the team still echoed inside her head while a screen on the wall flickered to show a stage with Relena, speaking…

_"Ma'am, we did the search three times… there were no records in the bank to show their DNA's…"_

_"Their records had been erased…"_

_'Or maybe they were never recorded… there are still people out there like the gundam pilots who…' Une's eyes widened… Trowa was missing… It couldn't be… but why does she have this sickening feeling at the pit of her stomach? _

_Probably because she knew, deep inside, that where trouble was, a gundam pilot was never too far away… "Excuse me, gentlemen… I need to make a phone call."_

"Hello? Hello…?"

Une jerked. "H-hello, good afternoon.  I need to speak with Ms. Catherine Bloom, please." 

"It's Mrs. Catherine Almeida now, ma'am." The deep voice on the other line announced then, "Just a minute." 

The initial surprise that Catherine was married slowly disappeared as she heard the muffled 'Honey!' then 'Some lady' and finally, a soft- "Hello?"

"Catherine? This is Colonel Une."

"Ms. Une, what is it? Did you find anything?"

"Catherine…" Should she tell her-

As though she could read Une's thoughts, Cathy gripped the phone harder. "Please… I deserve to know… Don't…" She suddenly had a frightful feeling… God, does she really have something to say about Trowa?

Une heard a shallow breath, then a courageous voice. 

"Just tell me…" 

She closed her eyes. She remembered what she felt when she learned that Rascal was… and now… "We found a couple of bodies… We cannot locate their records in the data bank. I want a couple of men to go through Trowa's personal belongings and take anything that might help distinguish his DNA ."

From the other side, Catherine slumped against Keith. She had wanted the truth, and now… she could only hope that the DNA's doesn't match. With as much control as she could invoke, she pushed away from Keith then spoke. "Do you have a pen and paper right now, Ms. Une?"

Une looked up at the ceiling to force some tears to go away. "Yes, I do…" Then she glanced down once again to start writing. "Thank you, Catherine." Une looked at the screen once again and saw that the President had taken Relena's previous position.

"I hope that it isn't…" Cathy couldn't even say it…

The people behind the President stood up then Une saw Relena's head incline. Her brown eyes slanted when Relena's blue green eyes widened. Then Relena's lips uttered a warning shout… Une's heart pounded against her ribcage but she couldn't look away… Gunshots flowed from her speakers, and Une jerked as if she was the one the bullets hit. From the other line-

"My God! Cath! They just shot Relena Peacecraft!"

Then the transmission died just as she saw Heero appear on the stage with a gun in hand… 

"Une! Une what's happening?!" Catherine's panicked voice reached her ears. She couldn't believe what she had just seen… She had met Relena only once, but she was… Trowa had fought with her… for her… she was… "Une!"  Has the whole world gone mad?!

Une swallowed, trying to speak, but her voice came out in a croak. "Catherine… you're welcome in the base…" It was the only thing she could say at that moment, and then she hung up.

From the other side of the line, Cathy could only stare at the phone… Something was terribly wrong… there was something that the Preventers were hiding… Her brother had been a part of the fight a long time ago while she stayed where she was… well, now she will be in the middle… and in her way, take part in it. 

"Keith…" Her stunned husband slowly turned to face her. She could understand… One person could mean so much to people. "Start packing…"

**…**

Silver blue eyes widened as he stared at the screen that had just turned black. Everyone was in shock around him, but not more than he… 

"Relena…" His little sister had just been shot… and his practiced eyes knew that it was in a… fatal place… Memories flitted through his head. Childhood before Sank was destroyed… during the war… his sister in her Queenly garbs…

A scream of pure torture pierced through the air and he was suddenly pulled back to the present. Another cold hand gripped his heart and strangled it as his eyes riveted to stare at the pristine, solid metal double doors. "What the hell are they doing to my wife?!"

Two male nurses instantly went in front of him. He could easily knock them unconscious but at the moment, his strength was gone…

"Sir, please…"

"This is natural…"

He glared at them. His sister was fighting for her life… and it feels as if his wife was also-

The lights on top of the doors in front of him turned from orange to a flashing red and nurses and doctors quickly hurried inside.

"What's happening?" His eyes tried to catch sight of Noin's bed when the doors opened, but they also closed far too quickly. "What the hell is happening?!" He moved to the doors, and the two male nurses instantly took hold of his arms. "Let me go!" He knew that he was acting in a way he never had before. It was just that… hearing her agonized scream… He couldn't think of anything but her!

God! Is child bearing this… He would never… "Lucrezia! Lucrezia!!!" Something stung him on the neck… he suddenly felt his last strength leave him and then… his vision wavered.

"Bring him to a room…"

Whose voice was that? He couldn't distinguish it from male or female… What was happening to his… wife…? His sister…?

He couldn't feel anything… anymore… then his body slumped against the two nurses.

**…**

Numb hands turned on her cell phone and-

"Une! Where's my sister! Where's Relena! Is she all right?! Dammit! Answer me!" 

"How can I answer when you wouldn't even let me speak, Charlie?!" Her voice came out in a near growl while her hands curled into fists.

"I- I'm sorry… Please Une… where is she? I want to be with her…"

She mentally forgave him… His panicked voice showed his true concern. "Charlie, she's being taken here."

"There?! That's not a hospital! She needs a damn hospital!" Charlie swerved into an open space, speeding his car on the freeway, damning any police who would pursue a chase.

She breathed in deeply for patience. "Charlie, this whole building is equipped with needed facilities. We have the best doctors, and the best technology. Relena is safer here than in a hospital. We will take care of her."

Charlie nodded while he relaxed his white knuckled hold on his steering wheel. "I'm on my way there." He turned off his phone. In his heart and mind, he could only pray for his sister's well being. She ran into it… she just ran into it… "You stupid idiot! Relena, you're so stupid!"

**…**

Her hands clutched against each other while she brought it to her trembling lips. "Please be all right, Relena… Oh, please…" She was so cold… Oh God! She's so cold…

"Ms. Noventa…? Where are you going?" 

The crowd had dispersed. Her guards had finally let her go, and she slowly walked towards the stage where it all happened… She was in the upper level, just a viewer… She was supposed to be on the stage with them, but she came in late…

The whole place was a wreck…

"I want to see…" Her voice was barely heard, it felt unusual to talk.

Preventers worked here and there…

"You have an appointment in thirty minutes…" 

She reached the stage and saw that spot of dark red blood… "Cancel it…" Her voice was caught. She couldn't breathe too well. That was Relena's blood… that was where Heero had held her and she saw more than she should have…

"But-"

"I said cancel it! Cancel all of my appointments!" She turned to face her doting secretary and bodyguards. "She's fighting for her life! How could you ask me to…" She shook her head then glared at them. "I'm going to her…" 

Her staff had held her back when that shot came, fearing for her life while she was only thinking of getting to her friend. But now, she will not let anyone stop her. She pushed her way through them and started for her car. Relena had been her mentor and friend… Oh, she knew very well that Relena had feelings for Heero, but she didn't mind. She had forgiven Heero a long time ago for killing her father… She understood his mistake. It was an accident. But this one… this person who was behind all of this… She cannot… Not any time soon… whoever he, or she, is…

**…**

Wufei sat in front of the vid phone and the look Mariemaia gave him wrapped a blanket of ice around his heart. "What's wrong?"

"Wufei…" Mariemaia's eyes clouded with tears and Wufei knew it was something worse than-

"Who was it? The body… whose was it?" It was the body… could it be… one of his friends? He didn't even realize that he had called them friends. 

"They're still working on it… but Relena…"

Something shattered somewhere in the background… a glass… and a stream of apologies echoed softly…

"What happened to Relena…?" His voice was unusually calm… How come he was calm? 

"She was shot, Wufei… Someone was aiming for the President but Relena pushed him away and took the bullet instead…" Mariemaia cringed at the stream of curses that left Wufei's lips along with some pounding on the table, and then he was suddenly looking at her again.

"How is she?"

"Sally is with her… they're operating on her right now."

Wufei let that thought settle in him. He knew Sally's skills. She had improved well over the years… But it seemed that one person hadn't improved at all… Heero Yuy. His skills must have become as rotten as an apple full of worms that he wasn't able to protect Relena. "Yuy. Where is he?"

Mariemaia bit her lower lip as she remembered what happened in the hospital earlier. "He just…" She looked away. "Left."

A sneer left Wufei as he thought of all the possible torture he could inflict to Yuy. Well… he must credit Yuy to one thing, at least he knew when to retreat.

"Also, Wufei… Mother is on her way to Arche. Rascal is alive, and we think that Quatre might be in trouble…"

'Quatre?' Why did it feel as if one by one, his friends were being targeted? He wants to go back there. Go back there and ask what the hell Yuy was doing when everything happened. How could he let a damn assassin get past his nose! But he knew even now that he must stay. "What… what does Une want me to do?"

She could see it in his eyes. He wants to leave India to come back here, but… she must not let him. "It will be wise to stay in your fort, Wufei. The man Heero killed had the same pins with the man you fought with over there."

Wufei's hands curled over the table's edge. 'At least Yuy was able to get one of them. So… it was _them_ who did it, whoever they are…' To think that he just talked to her yesterday… She was… His blood ran with a familiar thirst… a need… for justice… He nodded curtly at Mariemaia. "Is there anything else?"

"None at the moment."

"Fine. I need to tell the others." Wufei ended the transmission then sighed. How could he tell them?

"Wufei?" Ping's voice reached his cold heart, and her touch brought back slight warmth in his body. "What is it? What's wrong"

But right now, he doesn't want warmth… he wants to revel in the cold. It was war once again, after all… He jerked away and didn't even notice the pain that flashed across Ping's face. "Let's go outside… You will know soon enough." Deep in his mind, he pictured a fist connecting with Yuy's face. 'Where ever you are, Heero Yuy, I hope you know the extent of what you did with your carelessness.'

**…**

'Relena…' His hands caressed the rumpled sheets and blankets of her bed. It was the first time he saw it in such disarray at this time of the day. She usually has her room neat and orderly after her shower, save for those times when they made love… but things went awry that morning, as though predicting how the whole day… would turn out...

His shoulders trembled and his breath shuddered. So much pain encompassed his heart that he wished he would just die. But he couldn't. Not just yet. 

He straightened from the bed, though his shoulders still drooped, then walked to her white dresser at the far left corner of her room. He had seen her, once, sitting on her rose print chair in front of the dresser, combing her beautiful silk hair while the sun's first rays caressed those strands.

His hands touched the brush reverently.

There was this one special moment when she had turned after her eyes caught his on the mirror. He was sitting on her bed, just admiring her and she had walked back to him to give him a kiss…

Heero breathed in deeply as he left the dresser and then walked to her closet. Gently, he opened them and took in the multitude colors pastels, whites, and blacks within. Simple cuts, elegant…

He caught sight of that dress she wore their first night together-

Alluring.

Tears misted his eyes, but none fell and he continued to look around, to embrace that feel that Relena will be all right. That she will return into this house with her smile, eat, do her sculptures… come back to him…

A box at the far end of the closet caught his attention, and he kneeled down to open it only to stare at the contents dumbly. His shaking hands reached for the bear in the middle, the one he gave her. The one he had nearly gone insane over deciding whether to buy or not, then whether to give it to her or not. 

"You kept it…" His voice was hoarse, and full of emotion as he picked it and noticed that the bear was well taken care of. His eyes flickered over the other contents of the box and he noticed a worn white notebook, plain, thick, and simple. As though it would bite him, Heero gingerly took the book then opened it.

_"We changed again, for the fifth time, white. Hello, my silent friend."_

Heero frowned and he couldn't stop as he continued to read her elegant cursive. 

_"My secret keeper."_

Heero's eyes turned to the box while his hands closed the notebook. He saw four others- pink, blue, yellow, lavender. He knew what he held in his hands- Relena's latest diary. Her precious thoughts, her inner most dreams.  

He was tempted to read them, but to do so was to wrongfully invade. She did not give permission, and he will not strip her of that. She deserved better. 

He pushed the book and the bear back inside, satisfied, and then closed the lid. Deep in his heart, he knew that once he gets back, he would find pleasure learning her secrets directly from her. Heero stood up, made sure that her whole room was secure, the whole house, then he slung a heavy bag over his shoulder and turned on the alarm.

Sad but determined eyes looked at the house he had considered his home. He already left a message for Mariemia in her computer if they needed clothes for Relena. He couldn't think of anything else he could do but to start his mission.

He will not let her down. He will hunt those bastards to the ends of the universe. 

**…**

Did it all happen just seven days ago? 

Wufei pushed a hand through his hair, too tired to even grimace. Quatre had called, and broke the news about Trowa's death… then told him to pack up. He never really knew the guy well, but he will say that Trowa was an honorable man. Someone who did not deserve to die so… harshly…

Quatre still couldn't accept it, though… That soft hearted man still couldn't accept the fact that his best friend was dead… still trying to prove that the doctors were wrong by hiring others.

He saw Catherine and Keith outside the laboratory and he felt his feet amble towards them. Her face was too pale, and Keith looked as if he was ready to pass out, but the way he supported Catherine… He could tell that Keith will never leave her to face this alone… 

The couple looked up just as he stopped to face the tinted glass. Why did he even come here? 

Memories of old missions with Trowa Barton… of the celebration after the second war… of Relena sneaking off with Duo and Hilde to watch one of Trowa's circus performances with him on their tail… Heh… Duo and Hilde had influenced her so much… "We'll get them, Catherine… We'll get them."

Cathy nodded. She could hear that determination in his voice. "I know, Wufei… I know that you and the others always try to do your best…" Or die trying, just like Trowa.

Wufei nodded, then walked away. His thoughts went to Relena. She still hadn't woken up. Sylvia Noventa and Charlie have been visiting her alternately, and he had been by her bed for a few minutes each day.

She didn't look like the Relena he knew. It wasn't her. It couldn't be her… His vision wavered during one of those visits, and he looked up at the ceiling, unable to accept those tears when he felt a tender touch on his shoulder, and then he was encompassed in an embrace… Ping.

She had stayed away from him before that day, almost as if she knew that he needed his time alone, and then afterwards, she kept her distance once again. Now, he was aching to see her… to just be near her… to look at her… 

'Damn me to hell.'

He walked out of the elevator and instantly heard the sounds of cheers from the end of the hallway. The Gym. Curious, Wufei set off to investigate only to find half of the Intelligence Alliance on one side, half of the Red Team scattered around, and a bunch of other Preventers huddled around the other side. Some of them looked like they just got the crap beaten out of them. The air around the gym was so different from the deathly atmosphere on the higher levels. Good… That was good because he needs the men's spirit to stay strong.

Suddenly he stopped in mid step. Halfway to the gym, his eyes fell on the blue mat where a couple rolled away from each other and sprang onto their feet. 'Ping?!'

"Come on, big guy. Is that all you can do?" Her voice was taunting and mischievous at the same time. Her smirk and that haughty tilt of her head—she was asking for it, especially since the one she's fighting with was one of the top twenty.

"Heh… I'm just taking it easy on you, girl."

"Really?" Ping blew a lock of hair away from her face. "No wonder I'm still not out of breath. Come on! I want a work out! You guys promised me one and I've already beaten almost everyone here! Is this the best the Preventers can give me? If it is, then I'm very bored."

"Opie! Get her!" Cheers from the other side of the mat came, while the Red Patrol only shook their heads at their innocent companions. None of them had seen what Ping Rossi of the Intelligence Alliance could do, unlike them.

Wufei felt a smile on his face as he moved once again. She was one smart lady. He knew exactly what she was trying to do- instill confidence and spirit back into their shocked minds, and at the same time, give them a good work out. He knew there was a reason why he loved her so…

His train of thought faltered along with his steps. The voices around him faded and his eyes widened as Ping hit the mat with too much force… There was a ringing in his ears and he could only watch as she scissored her legs, caught a good kick against Opie's knee, then she was on her feet and had him on the ground in a matter of seconds.

The ringing in his ears slowly subsided as she punched the air above her with her gloved hands and smiled that wide happy smile of hers. He felt a stab of pure possessiveness. This woman was his. He loves her… Wufei brought a hand to his forehead to rub it, unable to believe the truth. How could he let himself do this?! How?!

He looked up and saw how the lights above glint against her curly mane, how her eyes sparkled while her friends took off her gloves, how she cheered with the men, and how his heart skipped a beat.

He loves her… loves her in a different way from how he previously… God!

"Ping, you're the first woman to ever beaten me!" Opie announced with that charming grin of his, and the others laughed.

He felt proud. That was his Ping who didn't even break a sweat to beat Opie…

"You need to marry me! Let's have strong kids together!" The consecutive 'me too's!' echoed in the gym.

Wufei nearly laughed out loud. Opie was known to be the playboy of the bunch and, Ping's clear laughter was a strong indication that she didn't take him seriously. He waited for her answer… what would she say?

Ping gave an all too enthusiastic grin at Opie. "Sorry boys, but I think you just have to make do with dreaming about me." She glanced over her shoulder with that saucy grin of hers. "I'm already married."

Wufei took a step back… He didn't hear what he just did, did he? She couldn't be… but… why is she smiling like that? Slowly, shock turned to anger and disgust. He had been played for a fool once again. This was what one gets when ruled by the heart. 

His eyes slanted as he glared at the woman in the midst of excitement. She lied to him in a way worst than words could never do…  Without another glance, he quickly turned and walked away to lick his wounds by himself, and let the raging anger propel him to a purpose.

**…**

The door to the room swished open and then closed once again and Quatre tiredly glanced up only to find a disturbing look of vengeance on Wufei's face. "Wufei? What's wrong?"

The pain, hate, and anger that he had not seen nor felt from Wufei since they saw each other a few days ago, hit him with full force. "I want a war, Quatre… I want justice against every goddamn pain seeking dishonorable assholes… If it takes a war to do that, then I want it… I want their blood…"

Quatre's eyes widened in shock, just as everyone stared at Wufei. His clearly said words sent a chill up their spine. He had changed… The pain and vengeance he could understand… but the level Wufei was exuding was beyond reason! What… what happened? What could have caused this… anger?


	48. Story 4: Uneasy Alliances 12

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Four: Uneasy Alliances**

**Chapter Twelve**

** by Heartfire**

*******

Ping sighed as she stared at Wufei's front door.  "Are you sure about this? Wufei is a very…" She tried to think of the best word for him- "Independent man, Quatre."

"I'm pretty sure about it, Ping. Just go on and try to talk to him." Quatre encouraged as he leaned over the steering wheel to check if they were in the right apartment. It had been a long time since Wufei had gone 'home', especially since he was Relena's bodyguard twenty-four, seven.  

"But-"  

"Ping, I've noticed how he calms down whenever you are around. You may not know this, but you do have some effect on Wufei…" Quatre reached out to touch one of her hands. "And Wufei is only human. I have a feeling he needs someone right now."

"So do I…" Ping whispered to herself, but why her? Also, why does she feel so… scared? She looked outside and saw the orange globe that is the sun, about to set.

Quatre frowned and leaned over some more. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear. What did you say?" 

"Nothing…" She quickly shook her head. "I didn't say anything… I was just wondering why… I mean… Why do you want me to talk to him again?" Quatre never really broached the subject… actually, now that she thought of it, how was he able to wheedle her out of the main building to this place?!

Yvan coughed from the back seat and quickly looked away, knowing what happened yet not wanting to say anything. Quatre had gotten himself into this, she's pretty sure he could get out, too.

Quatre gulped. He doesn't want to scare Ping off. He has this feeling that whatever Wufei was going through, she could help him, though for the life of him, he doesn't know why! The two rarely talk to each other since he met the IA's, rarely spent time with each other, but… there's always that something in the air when they were in the same room! He's just sure that… something's up, and with the way Wufei had acted a little while ago, so much hate and anger… it was time he opened up. "Please Ping… do this… Just talk to him."

Ping sighed. She's not exactly doing this for Quatre… She's doing this for herself. "Fine… Fine… I'll do it." She opened the door. "Don't wait up for me, I'll find my way back." Besides, if everything goes the way she planned, they'd be snuggling cozily in his bed until tomorrow morning. She glanced to the back and gave a wavering smile to the red haired woman. "Yvan, take my seat and keep Quatre in line." She gave a good-bye wink to Yvan, and her new friend chuckled, then she turned around and started for the door.

She heard the car door slam twice and knew that Yvan took her suggestion and changed seats. When she heard the car start up once again, she had the urge to run back and join them, but she didn't… and finally, she heard them speed away.

Alone… She was alone, in front of Wufei's house, and she doesn't even know if he's in or- "How do I get in?" Already having decided that she wouldn't ring the bell and would just surprise him, Ping slowly walked to the doorway. Halfway there, a sparkle lit her eyes and her initial worry about 'getting in' disappeared.

Wufei's lock was electronic… and my, my.  She's pretty good with 'fixing' up these types of things.

About ten minutes later, she had the whole mechanism apart and Wufei's door clicked open. That was all the welcome she needed as her hand closed over a knob while another reached out and very _softly_ knocked.

"Hello? Wufei?" She waited for an answer, but none came. Now, more than ever, she was curious as to how he lived. What his house looked like. What his books were, and everything- every single wonderful and irritating thing about him. 

Without missing a beat, she pushed open the door, and went inside. Instantly, she heard the sound of flowing water.

He's in the bathroom… Taking a shower…  Butterflies appeared in her stomach, though for the life of her, she didn't know why- especially since she had already seen him naked! Restraining herself, she looked around. 

He had a practical house, sparsely decorated, and very clean—except for the fact that there was almost an inch thick of dust on the living room glass table. His apartment was small, but for a single man, it was enough. She slowly walked into the living room and saw his unpacked bag and gears littered on the floor. To her right was a small kitchen and to her left… the clear sounds of delicious showering, plus his bedroom. The running water, the jumble of Preventer uniform, and combat boots on the floor leading to the door was clue enough to tell her that it was as she had suspected.

Yet, aside from those signs of life, the whole apartment felt so… detached… soulless. She looked around once again and finally concluded why. Wufei does not have anything of personal value anywhere- save for the books in the bookshelf beside the old television set. 

So long getting to know more about Wufei. How could a woman learn more about the man she set her heart on- the man she decided to marry? She grinned when she remembered that afternoon workout. Even her friends were surprised, but when she signaled to them that 'it's yet to happen', they understood and had waited until the men vacated the gym to bombard her with questions. 

It was not a surprise that her friends were shocked to hear that she had set her heart on the Commander. It was presumptuous of her to say that she was married. But she had already set her goal, and that was to marry Commander Wufei Chang. 

With a sigh, she opened her blouse to reveal a white shirt underneath then dropped the clothing on the sofa's backrest. She's going to clean up this mess, make him coffee, and surprise the heck out of him before he walks out of that door!

She started with the clothes on the floor. She grabbed the dark green pants while trying to shut out the sounds of rushing water and pulled the pockets inside out when a scrap of dirty white cloth fell out. Curious, she picked it up and was just slightly disgusted to see clotted blood stains on it. The cloth seemed old and torn for a handkerchief- it was time to throw it away… She'll just buy him a new set, embroidered if he wants it to be. Without another thought, she dropped the cloth near the wall, to be swept away later on.

**…**

The soap kept on slipping from his hands. He hates it so much! He hates all of this-

"Why'd I even have to meet her?" This was… learning that she was married… it was the same as… putting a bullet through him. Only this time, it was worse because he didn't die. He was living every second of pain. 

Just like the time when Merian died…

He was through with women. They're all alike. They twist your head and play you like dolls, then drop you at the sight of better ones. With Merian, it was war and death, and with Ping… her affair with him to the reality of marriage.

Damn them all to hell. They should all burn.

With a quick yank, he turned off the shower. He breathed in the hot vapors, not wanting to go outside this small room where he was safe. 

Life was unfair… Then again, he had thought he saw life as that, but Ping had made him see it differently, and now, she just pushed him back… in a far worse position than before.

He needs to 'talk' with Merian and reassess his priorities in life. Yes, of course. There, the start of a new day in his life. He was going to plan and this time, he will not waver. He will not.

With one last sigh, he opened the shower curtains, dried himself with a towel before wrapping it around his waist, and then he opened the door. The first odd thing he noticed was the sensitizing aroma of coffee… being brewed… 

Wufei frowned. He knew that he didn't set his coffee maker to brew. Curious, thinking that he might have forgotten, he walked out of his bedroom and took a double take when he noticed that the table looked as though… dusted? Wait…where were his bags?! He looked on the floor- where were his clothes?!

Another question was about to scream in his mind when the door to his small laundry room opened and Ping came out with a small white basket. Wufei's eyes widened in surprise. How in the world was she able to get inside?! How did she know where he lived?! And what the hell is she doing in his house?! She hadn't even noticed him, too busy reading a magazine she found in the laundry-

"Oh! Wufei!"

He couldn't stop his eyebrow from rising. She looked surprised- for someone who walked into somebody else's house. 

"You're probably wondering why I'm here…" Ping didn't know why she wanted to scruff her toe on the carpet in embarrassment, or why she couldn't look directly at Wufei after he gave her that suspicious glance.

"Should I even ask?" 

His voice sounded deathly cold and Ping frowned, confused. "Quatre dropped me off, and… well… uh…" She couldn't create a straight path of thought! "I started brewing some coffee. Do you want some?"

Wufei's eyebrow rose a notch higher.

"I mean… this is your house so… uh…" She tried to amend what was said, but she felt as if she was digging a deeper hole.

"So you made yourself comfortable. Should I even say welcome and enter?" 

She looked up and nearly flinched at the glare he was giving her. "I did knock, but you were inside the shower so I guess you didn't hear-"

"And you went in without any permission." She couldn't meet his eyes and he knew he was correct. Anger at having been invaded in his sanctuary churned in him, and it was coupled with his fury of having been deceived. "What were you doing in the laundry room?"

"I… I loaded some of the clothes scattered all over the place-"

"You what?!" Wufei's voice bellowed as he ran for the room, pushed her out of the way, and slammed a palm on the stop button of the machine. He quickly opened it, his anger multiplying in infinitum as he dug through his wet, soap covered clothes. He found his pants but he didn't see what he was looking for. 

Ping could only watch as he pulled one pants after the other, dropping them carelessly on the floor. "What are you looking for?"

Wufei only cursed as pulled out the last trousers. He never found it. Slowly, he turned around and with enraged eyes, glared at Ping. "What did you do to it?"

"Do to what?" She felt the inclined to put the basket in front of her like a shield.

He tried to keep a hold on his temper, though he was having a hard time trying to talk through gritted teeth. "A white cloth. With blood."

"I threw it away." 

He couldn't move. She said it so… nonchalantly. The only memory of his past, the only link to his origin… thrown away like some trash-

Ping turned away from him and placed the basket on the sofa. She started moving around, cleaning to lessen her tensed state. "It was frayed and full of blood clots so I just thought that I should throw it away. I'll get you a new hanky later."

Wufei's jaw worked. Anger raged in him that he could barely speak. "The hell you will." 

Ping stopped from picking a newspaper from the carpet and frowned over the sofa backrest. "Did you say something, Wufei?" 

His anger erupted. "Who do you think you are?!" 

Wufei's voice was low but dangerous and the way he said it… the way he looked at her… it showed her what she meant to him and it wounded her to the core. She suddenly couldn't talk. Did he thought… Was she just… nothing? Was that what he meant by that look? "I… I…" Her hands started to twist themselves around each other. She's stuttering! Oh God, she's stuttering! She hadn't done this for such a long time! Why now?! "I… I…"

"I, I, I, I! I what?!" His arms flung themselves outwards while fury showed on his face. 

Ping gasped and took a step back just as Wufei moved forward.

"You came into my life, barged in here as if you owned this place," he kicked aside his table and his lamp warningly twirled from the force. 

She cringed. It was the very first time she saw him like this. She was afraid, yes, but in a different way. It wasn't of physical brutality, she was sure that Wufei wouldn't do anything like that, and she could defend herself, but right now… Oh she couldn't explain it!

"And now, you threw away the only…" Wufei stopped… He almost said wife to her and might have hurt… Wait. Why should he even care if he did?! She deceived him.

She couldn't believe the sudden change on Wufei's face. Sinister? No… That wasn't the word she's looking for. 

"You threw away my wife's gift." Yes… her gift. That was what it was. A most treasured gift that kept him in line all these years. He couldn't understand why Ping paled, why her eyes widened as if in deep shock, nor why she grabbed the side of the chair nearest to her as if she was about to faint, but he didn't care. He does not. She will learn the pain he felt and then they will be on even grounds.

She didn't hear it correctly. No… He couldn't be… could he? Her energy seemed to have drained from her and she could barely stand. Why? Was that why… he changed so much these past few days? To tell her that it was all over because he was going back to his… wife…? She could feel tears threaten behind her eyes, but she forced them back. "Y-y-you-your w-wi-w-wife…?" Damn her stuttering voice!

Why does he feel like the lowest crawling animal on the face of the earth? Why does she look as though she's in so much pain and it didn't feel right? "My wife. She will be here soon…" He was using Merian so badly, but he needs to. "Do you want me to tell her why you're here? Or about our affair?"

Affair… That was all she was to him? She had preserved herself all these years, all through countless of missions and foreplays just… just for a damn affair?! All those times…

Every second that passed made him feel so much worse. He wants to take it all back and apologize, but pride… got in the way. 

"I-I-I th-thi-think I sh-sh-should…" 

'Why the hell was she stuttering?' He couldn't understand why she's having trouble… She didn't look as if she was about to cry, does she? 'Oh damn… don't let her cry… please! Please don't let her…' He could never resist a damn crying onna- especially her. He might just kneel on the floor in front of her and beg for forgiveness!

Ping breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. "I think I should go." There. She was finally able to say something without stuttering… a good sign… Without looking back at him, and stifling the urge to sniffle, she started to slowly walk towards the front door. Why does that door seem so far away?!

He watched until she reached his door, head held up high, and shoulders back the way she would always appear to him. She opened it and he was prepared for her to finally leave him in peace when she turned around. Her eyes sparkled against the sun's shine… what did that mean? 

She will leave gracefully… She always does, and this wasn't the time to not do it. Even with tears about to leave her eyes, she will not show pain. "She will not know it from me." Her voice was lower from trying to fight bubbling whimpers. "I will see you at the base." She turned away from him because from the corner of her left eye, a tear had already dropped.

"Good bye, Wufei." She closed the door, head still held up high. She took one small step after another down the stairs while tears overflowed her eyes. She told herself again and again that she would not cry. That he was not worth crying over. She thought that he was different but he was like all men- selfish, and just after sex. Damn the whole male population!  With a sob, her feet grew wings and she ran as far away from Wufei's house as her feet could carry her, not knowing where she was going, just so long as it was far away from him as possible.

**…**

 "Don't worry…" Wufei sighed as he leaned his hip against his sofa's backrest. "I already told her."  His hand went up to his head. God! His head feels like it's being split apart! 

There was no use trying to look for the cloth since every trash in this damnable advanced hellhole would go directly to the recycling bin. It would be incinerated within the first minute it was sent down the chute, or mixed along with the other soggy materials. 

Unconsciously securing his towel around his waist, Wufei stared at his door without truly seeing it. He tried to bar his heart from feeling anything for her. He crossed his arms over his chest in a physical symbol to stop himself from barging out of the door and running after her. 

He shouldn't run after her. She was the one who lied to him first… granted that he never asked her, but still! His hand went up to his eyes and he grimaced when he wiped away a tear.

Damn that woman. They're all alike- selfish and manipulative. Damn the whole female population!

With a growl, he stepped away from the couch and walked into the kitchen. His body worked automatically. If there was coffee, he drinks it, and that's exactly what he's doing. Cup in hand, he took a small sip and nearly coughed to death, but he stopped himself and swallowed the last traces of the deadly coffee.

She doesn't even know how to brew coffee!

A couple more curses left his lips and ran through his head, but even as he did so, he neared the coffee to his lips and drank some more. It was the first time she ever cooked something just for him and he was going to drink every last drop of it even if it kills him. Damn his stinking hide to hell!

**…**

Quatre sighed as he looked from Ping to Wufei, who both stood as far away from each other as possible.

"I think you've done enough." Yvan whispered just behind him.

He quickly turned, an innocent look upon his face. "I wasn't… I mean…"

"This is their problem. I know that they are your friends, but let them figure this one out by themselves first before you push yourself in the middle."

How did she know…? Well… Quatre smiled sadly instead. "You're right, Yvan. I won't." He was rewarded with a smile before Yvan turned from him to orient herself with the panel of controls Mariemaia had asked her to operate.

"Commander Chang." 

Everyone looked at Mariemaia as she stood up from her equipments. She looked calm, but deep inside she was churning. To have Relena near to death, then Heero missing… Mentally, she shook her head and waited for Wufei's attention. "I think I've found Mr. Maxwell and Ms. Schebecker."

Wufei nodded. Une told him about that assignment the last time they talked… He's going to get that Maxwell for not being here when Relena was fighting for her life! Where the hell was he?! "Fine. I want you to stay here. Get some people to bring them in."

Mariemaia nodded, content with the order. She didn't want to leave the base, especially with what's been going on. "Yes sir!" Besides, she wants to be here in case mother calls. "I will also need clearance to use a Preventer's craft."

"You have it. Just get them here!" The words almost came out in a bellow and Mariemaia hastily walked out.

From the other side of the room, Ping tried to understand what was happening. Who were those people- Schebecker and Maxwell? Why were the Preventers putting so much time looking for them? And why did it seem that they had trouble finding them?

Quatre, on the other hand, left Yvan's side to follow the teen. He didn't even notice Yvan's nervous look around the room, didn't even think that she may still be a little afraid with so many new people, what with his thoughts so focused on Duo and Hilde. "Mariemaia."

She stopped just before she opened the doorway, turning her head sideways to acknowledge him. "Yes? What is it?"

"Where are they?" Quatre quickly asked with a low voice, not wanting the others to hear.

Mariemaia bit her lower lip then leaned in closer to Quatre. "Why?"

Yvan looked away from the scene, trying to tell herself that there was nothing to be jealous of. Everyone here was Quatre's friend… they were all close… where does she fit in all of this?  Sure, they were all nice, but she was the new person while the others… they have shared a past together… They knew him longer than she had… that was what she was jealous of… that shared past…

Quatre nodded. "I want to know. They aren't likely to disappear, especially in our time of need."

"I think they're on Mermaid Sea Island in the Pacific Ocean. It's a private island."

Quatre frowned while ideas started flitting in his mind, and he quickly shook his head while Mariemaia nodded.

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking… I think they did." 

"They never even told us…" Quatre pursed his lips, not knowing whether to be annoyed or to be happy for the couple. Granted that he did know the two were going to get along when he left them on his plane… but still! To just disappear without telling anyone and with the Morleys still angry at them… it was so… stupid.

"Well, at least they're finally together." Mariemaia sighed. "I had trouble looking for them then I remembered what happened with Morley, and thought that maybe I should run a check on honeymoon areas. Then it hit me. MS Industries is Maxwell-Schebecker Industries, and they have the same initials as 4 private islands. I had the islands checked and found that Mermaid Sea was rented out, indefinitely, to only one couple. I tried contacting the island, but no one was answering." She shrugged. "I'm just hoping that I'm correct, or else Wufei will get more…" Mariemaia grimaced. "Sour."

Quatre nodded as he dared a glance at Wufei, glowering at the maps on the table. "I don't know what's wrong, but I'm trying to figure it out."

For the first time since everything went haywire, Mariemaia gave a cheerful chuckle. "That's harder than my assignment… Good luck." With a small smile, she tapped in the code on the pad, opening the door, then walked out. She will be back inside soon enough. Hopefully, by then, Wufei have calmed down. Maybe she'll even pass by Ms. Relena's room, too…

Inside, while Quatre walked towards Yvan, his thoughts strayed to Cathy and the same sad, depressing feeling encompassed him. "Yvan, let's see how Cathy is."

Without a word, Yvan nodded, complying with his request. She knew what he truly meant… he wants to see if the new analyst has a different diagnosis for his friend… 

The couple held hands and started for the door, oblivious to the envious stare from Ping and Wufei.

**…**

Quatre's eyes strayed even after he forced himself to look away and the sight of the charred bodies holding each other… It made his stomach churn once again. He wants to throw up… He couldn't breathe… That time when he dreamt and felt that burning heat… 

Yvan noticed his haggard breathing. His palm became sweaty and cold and his face had grown pale. She could feel his pain… Hadn't she lost her father through a cruel blow? She let his hand go and reached up to cup his face and forced him to look down. "Quatre, look at me…"

Quatre obeyed and looked into her lavender eyes… an anchor- his anchor… 

"You are alive… You can do something for him." She could feel him struggling against her hold but she didn't let go… She'll never let him go. "Do you understand? You're alive… you can make a difference."

Her words finally made sense to him… Tears fell down his cheeks once again and soft, caressing hands wiped them away. "I'm sorry…"

"There isn't anything to be sorry about… I understand." Yvan whispered as she tiptoed up and kissed him on his cheek. 

Quatre breathed in deeply then gently pulled away from Yvan to face the fifth doctor he had hired for the past two days. All five had been working independently and… all of them had the same answers for him.

"Do you know the second body?" His words seemed so weak…

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Winner. All I can tell you is that the second body was a woman… Who she was… what she was doing there… I have no answers…"

Quatre nodded while his hand instinctively went out for Yvan's and she met his hand halfway to give another reassuring squeeze. "Thank you anyway… Doctor Stantley."

The doctor nodded, turned, and left… He hated his job… especially when he's the bringer of sad news, such as this… It made him wonder, why he ever chose this field…

The couple watched the doctor leave then they looked at each other. Their tired, sleep deprived eyes met.

"We still have to tell Cathy…" 

Yvan's use of 'we' and not just 'you' gave a slight lift to his soul but the fact that he should tell Cathy… "Yes… I know…"

Their eyes strayed to the one-sided mirror that showed them Catherine, waiting sadly with her husband, Keith. Her eyes were just as tired as theirs… If she had not reported to Une that Trowa had been missing… If she had not given them Trowa's things for the forensic team to gather anything that could distinguish Trowa's DNA… then… they might've never known who was burnt… Trowa might have died without anyone knowing he did…

Yvan watched as Quatre tried to gather his courage- he breathed in deeply, trying to remain calm… Her Quatre has been through so much… 

"Let's go…"

His whispery voice seemed stronger to Yvan. "I'm right behind you…"

"I know…" Quatre answered gratefully and once again, thanked fate that he met her… 

They walked out of the room and for a moment, Quatre was able to meet Cathy's questioning look… a look that became hopeful… then he couldn't… He stared at the floor while Yvan tried to look ahead. 

Catherine's eyes were just focused on Quatre, awaiting news of her brother… Yvan saw Cathy flinch… saw her shake her head…  Her lower lips tremble… 

They reached her.

"Then… he's really…" The soft voice wavered.

"I'm so sorry… Catherine…" Quatre whispered as he squeezed Yvan's hand for support and strength. He was sorry he gave her hope that the Preventer's doctors might have been wrong… and he was sorry that he was in another country because whatever Trowa was doing, he had probably tried to contact him for help and he wasn't able to…

More tears flowed down from Catherine's red streaked eyes, following the path of her dried tears. Then she turned around and hugged her husband as she cried openly.

Quatre slowly looked up and saw Catherine hugging Keith's chest while her whole body shook in tears… He couldn't do anything… not a thing… If he could only turn back time…

"Quatre… do you still have those doctors around?" Catherine's broken voice reached him from Keith's chest.

"Yes, they're still here."

Cathy pushed herself away from Keith then wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Bloodshot eyes met Quatre's own and he saw so much courage and strength in them. "I… I want to know if… Trowa and I are… related…"

That surprised him… He blinked then stared at her while Yvan frowned in confusion, wondering – aren't Trowa and Cathy brother and sister?

"I… I know that it's a one in a million chance… but… what harm could it do? I've always wanted to know where my lost brother was… Even if Trowa isn't… him… He will always be my brother…"

"He will always be mine too…" Quatre answered in a whisper. "Cathy… I would be honored if you will accept me as a brother… The whole Winner Family will be honored if you'll accept us…"

A faint smile appeared on Cathy's face… A thankful one upon Keith's and a proud one on Yvan's at what Quatre had said… He was trying to show Cathy that they were in this together… 

"Thank you… Quatre…" Cathy stood up with Keith's help then faced the doors Quatre just walked out of a while ago. "Are they in there?"

"Yes…" Quatre whispered as he remembered the charred bodies…

Cathy nodded then started to walk toward the door with Keith's arm around her waist for support.

"Cathy…" 

Catherine paused at Quatre's call. 

"Don't worry… I won't rest until I find out who did this…" He saw Catherine nod her head before she disappeared behind those doors. Then Quatre couldn't look anymore… That was all he could promise… that was all he could do… 

He turned away and walked down the hallway with Yvan as his support, just as she had been when he walked into Relena's room and saw her in a coma… just as she had been when he walked into the observation room and nearly threw up at the sight of his best friend's body… just as she had been when he received the fifth report from the third company he had hired…

The only thing that was stopping him from going crazy was Yvan beside him. His friends were brought down by this organization and he will find them… Even if Heero was the first one to find them, at least he knows that Heero will make sure each one will be eliminated.

They reached a metal door that instantly opened and walked inside the Main Room. Some Preventers and a few of the Alliance Intelligence assigned to the mission, turned around just as Mariemaia swiveled from her transmission console. 

Quatre shook his head then looked away. He didn't even see Mariemaia's sad look…

"Quatre… please sit down…" Yvan whispered as she pulled him to a seat.

He complied and sat beside her then placed his head in his hands.

Ping looked away. She couldn't imagine how it was for Quatre, but she tried to relive that feeling she had when she first saw the bodies and imagined it three folds for Quatre. Mariemaia bit her lower lip while Wufei mentally scolded the blonde Arabian for looking at Trowa's body again, even knowing how much it would affect him. 

"I just don't understand…" 

Quatre's soft, chopped voice reached Wufei's ears and he was just thankful that Yvan was beside his friend to lead him to a seat. "Wha… what was he doing there? Why did Trowa have to go there? Why did he have to disappear on us like that? Trowa…" 

The door opened and closed, but Wufei's eyes were only trained on Quatre. The soft, hopeless voice…it didn't seem right. He was stronger than that! Much stronger! He shouldn't let this affect him too much… With tears stinging his eyes, Wufei turned away.

"I think I might know where Trowa Barton is. That is, if you still need to find him."

Wufei's body went rigid. At that moment, perfume of the highest quality reached his nose. He knew that cold voice, but Quatre beat him to the punch-

"Dorothy?!"

{_Heartfire's Note:_ The time-line is the same as the other stories. These are the events that happened while the specific character within the story is experiencing his own conflicts. For example, with Wufei's story- It started with a new assignment, relinquishing him of guarding Relena. Heero's story started with taking up that assignment within that very week. Also, within the first few parts of Wufei's story, he expressed Quatre's part with the Arche situation. So, while Wufei was in India, Heero was with Relena, and Quatre was in Arche doing his assignment. The only Story that was out of synch was Duo and Hilde's. Duo's story started earlier than the previous three, but that's because Duo's story was the beginning of this whole fiasco…    

Now, I'm sure you all are asking- Dorothy… Dorothy…?  I guess that's the biggest clue I could give you on our next part of the saga ^_^ 

How did you like Wufei's section? I hope you enjoyed it. We are 1 more story closer to finishing this saga. Getting excited? Wonderful! Here's a little excerpt just for you all!

Story Five: Righteous Mirage 

"You have the numbers in front of you, Ms. Catalonia. Sad to say, but we are in dire need of… nourishment."

Dorothy Catalonia calculatingly placed her white, unblemished hands on top of the table, on top of the papers, and then entwined them together. "Yes, I do, Mr. Blake. I've reviewed your request, your project, and everything else in your portfolio. What I am curious to know is why you need more money. You already have the back up of a country, that much you have truthfully told me. So, why then?"

"We heard a great deal about your… generosity to our kinds and hope that… you would extend your kind embrace to my organization."

"I must say that I am very interested in your… project… I wish to make a large sum of donation…" She saw the glint of joy in the old man's eyes… The leader of this large organization… He may look old and frail, but she could be quite sure of his intelligence and ruthlessness…  

~ What is this 'organization' they're talking about? Will Dorothy actually make the 'donation'? ~


	49. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 1

**- Chimera of Life -**

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter One**

**by Heartfire**

~*~

_"…  See, in the war-torn city, that reckless, gallant_

_Handsome lieutenant turn to the wet-lipped blonde_

_… for one sweet desperate kiss_

_In the broken room, in blue cinematic moonlight-_

_Bombers across that moon, and the bombs falling,_

_The last train leaving, the regimen departing-_

_And their lips lock, saluting themselves and death…"_

_- Against the False Magicians by Thomas McGrath -_

_~*~_

Light poured through tall, ceiling high windows and splashed upon the polished mahogany floor and walls the color of light bronze. The sunny outside world beckoned to her, heightened by the soft fluttering of white, elegant drapes.

Eyes almost strayed out to the foyer but were instantly forced back to the slightly balding man who sat adjacent from the windows.

"You have the numbers in front of you, Ms. Catalonia. Sad to say, but we are in dire need of… nourishment."

Dorothy Catalonia calculatingly placed her white, unblemished hands on top of the table, on top of the papers, and then entwined them together. "Yes, I do, Mr. Blake. I've reviewed your request, your project, and everything else in your portfolio. What I am curious to know is why you need more money. You already have the back up of a country, that much you have truthfully told me. So, why then?"

"Ms. Catalonia, I do not want to hide anything from you about this organization." Cold, gray eyes met her own. "I know for a fact that you will make it your business to learn more about us if you were interested, and I do wish to interest you." A deep sigh escaped his chest. "I do not wish to rely too much on Mr. Morley because he has something planned for this organization… What it is, I do not know, only he could answer that question. But, I do not wish to be more in debt to him than I already am… If I do become more beholden to him, then he will not hesitate to use that and force me to do as he please." 

Dorothy nodded. Oh, she understood, all right…  She had heard how Morley operates… Small but powerful organizations she'd helped had complained to her about him too many times already… Then again… what did Mr. Blake have in store for this organization? What were his personal motives? "Yes, I could understand. This is your… _special _project and therefore, you wish nothing to be changed."

Blake nodded. "We heard a great deal about your… generosity to our kinds and hope that… you would extend your kind embrace to my organization."

Dorothy looked down at the papers under her hands… So, he heard about what she does, eh? Bestowed little alms to those who thought they could usurp the government… Too bad they didn't know what they were getting themselves into… As for her, she knew better than to be too involved with them. It was much more fun to watch from the sidelines and track who's winning- although it was getting to be a bit tiring watching the organizations make the same mistakes and watching the Preventers always win. Sometimes she wished there would be at least one golden mind out there that would play this game with superior moves. At least, no one yet knows what she does… And oh… She delights when people beg to her like this… Power could be so consuming.

"Mr. Blake… I must say that I am very interested in your… project… I wish to make a large sum of donation…" She saw the glint of joy in the old man's eyes… The leader of this large organization… He may look old and frail, but she could be quite sure of his intelligence and ruthlessness…  She had learned, too early in life, that looks always deceives… 

All right, she had already dangled the cheese in front of the mouse… It's time to snatch it away. "But…"

The flash of joy disappeared in the man's eyes. 

"I wish to learn more about this _investment_ I am making…" Slowly, Dorothy pushed her chair back then walked to the windows. Her eyes took in the vast, neatly moved lawn, green as an everglade. "Your organization stated its exclusiveness… I wish to enter this… private club of yours… Stay for a few weeks and observe, just so I could be sure about my money…"

Blake bit his lower lip. She wishes to see it… his world…. Should he chance it? They are going to emerge soon… But then… Dorothy Catalonia was highly praised by everyone in the underground community… And he does need the money… Morley had become a pain. Should he chance it? "When do you wish to see it, Ms. Catalonia?"

Dorothy smiled at the window, a soft, victorious smile. "You mean to tell me that I will not be brainwashed like your little puppets, Mr. Blake?"

Blake smiled proudly. Having developed that program had taken years, but he had finally perfected it. "I thought about it, but… having an intelligent woman who only wish to see righteousness set back upon the world… well, let's just say that it isn't worth the trouble…"

Dorothy grinned at her pale reflection in the glass. Flattery always was nice… then again, she's so used to them now… especially from needy people. "Then, as soon as you could arrange it, Mr. Blake… As soon as you could arrange it…"

**…**

The Project was RJ, which stood for Righteous Justice. Their logo, the balance scale with R on one bowl and J upon the other, was encircled in a double circle with Gaelic letterings.  According to her translators, it meant: "To set forth truth and justice within" then the usual laurels… 

Wonderful seal, actually… the numbers were good, the process was quite interesting… Brainwashing had been a practice that was forsaken and forgotten long ago. There was just no use for it anymore… People just seem like sheep to sheepherders. Now, after over a century, maybe more, it has emerged once again, and so very much enhanced… 

Then… there's also the Unified Field Theory… Radar, optical, and, just recently, satellite invisibility… Wonderful technological advances! Usually, it's only just radar, like Deathscythe, or just optical… but using three rolled into one! Marvelous technology!

"How established is your organization, Mr. Blake…" Dorothy whispered as she reached for a piece of small croissant then daintily took a bite from it. She reviewed the papers given to her… the reports from her own network of spies, and, of course, her own research… The organization had been hush-hush so far. Having been established over five years ago and the mere fact that she had not even heard about it?! Now _that_ was something that piqued her curiosity. She usually has a nose for these things… Why wasn't she able to sniff this one out?

Her head started to throb from the back and slowly crept to the front. She quickly put down the croissant on her plate then closed her eyes. 

She has a bad feeling about this one… such a bad feeling… 

**…**

"This is the kitchen. Breakfast starts promptly at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 6. Anybody who miss going inside the mess hall by then shall not be served… But we have not had any problems with that. They are always prompt."

Her dull-eyed guide opened the silver, metal doors and, as in every other room, Dorothy found orderliness, cleanliness, and amazing clockwork operation! Then again… it is so much more interesting to watch her guide…

Dorothy turned, her eyes focused upon the man who was giving such a monotonous speech. He was tall, middle aged… and definitely brainwashed… or mind-controlled, or however you term it nowadays. Except for that dullish hue in his eyes, one could almost say that he's perfectly normal! How truly wonderful!

"I cannot wait to see the main controllers."  It was just sad that Blake had ordered her off limits from the rooms where the brainwashing takes place…

"That would be next, Ma'am."

Dorothy was about to comment when a garish, ear-splitting laughter rang in the air. A frown appeared on her guide's face while Dorothy raised an eyebrow.

"You are too funny, Jenkins!"

"Jessie! Hush! Don't make fun of Henkins- not Jenkins! And for Pete's sake! Lower your voice! Daddy-"

"Daddy this, Daddy that. Honestly, Onie. You're not a child anymore! Start speaking your mind! Look at this wall! So disgustingly bare! Why not add a splash of hot pink or neon orange!"

A revolted look passed over Dorothy's face at the suggestion, yet at the same time, the owner of the high-pitched, obviously badly disguised voice intrigued her.

"Jessie! Please! There's supposed to be a visitor around the premises- Oh!"

The owner of the soft voice stopped in aghast as chocolate brown eyes collided with ice blue ones. A frightened look passed over those eyes just as Dorothy scanned the child. What a contradiction. A child's face, but with soft, quiet chocolate brown eyes set against an oval face with black strands of hair that showed from underneath a cap. The child was wearing the same uniform like all the others, save for the owl rimmed reading glasses that hung around his neck. For an instance, Dorothy could only wonder at the maturity of this child who looked no more than fourteen, though a bit tall. Obviously, this little kid has more sense than-

"A visitor will be good for this place! If it's another dull, boring, white, straight faced man I see, I will go…" Jessie's voice faded as 'she' rounded the corner. The stranger in loose silk gold dress with a face carved from ivory, hair of spun gold, and eyes blue and cold as the arctic was… was… If he's going to let go of his façade right now- Awwwooooo!!!!

'Than that man.' Dorothy felt a mixture of surprise, shock, and revulsion. 'What a pity…' Jessie- the… person with bronze skin, full but firm lips, square jaw, jet black hair, dark brown eyes and knife edge cheekbones was wearing a mortifying hot pink lab coat that just screams out his… personality.

The distinct disgust he could see in her eyes made him double check his libido and remember his role. He's usually not like this… Actually, he's starting to think that maybe he's immune to women… but it seemed like he's not… Ah well, back to work… "Now look at her, Onie! Look at her!"

Onie's already pale face turned a shade whiter while Dorothy's ice cold stare added knives along for the ride. 

"The very picture of elegance! Grace! Color!!! Gold! What a lovely color, my dear! Ah! I just luuuv your dress! Is it Kressler's?"

Dorothy didn't want to answer that 'oh-look-at-me-I'm-so-cute' brown eyes but… better get this over with. "Yes… what if it is?"

Her haughty answer made him truly re-assess his earlier urges. She was not, never, no way, his type. Uh uh! Nope! He might just need to go out and mingle with women… Maybe he had been cooped up in this loco house for so long that he was craving for some stuff. "Ah! Wonderful taste! The style, the cut! Beautiful!"

'Obviously, this man- er… person, was never brainwashed.' Dorothy wondered why he wasn't… Blake would surely have more peace without his screeching frantic voice around. She let his inconsequential babble fly over her without so much as a bat of an eyelash-

"Lieutenant Matthew, please report to the Emergency Room."

The change on 'Jessie's' face couldn't be more distinct than a ripple on a calm pool at the sound of the mechanical voice above head. His teasing, fun look disappeared in a sudden dark, haunted way before he turned and instantly left the corridor. 

Onie gave Dorothy an apologetic smile. "Excuse Jessie's behavior… He may seem a little… scatter brained and all… but he is one of our best soldiers around…"

"What just happened?" Her gaze didn't leave the corner where Jessie disappeared. Her curiosity was aroused by that sudden change. It was obvious that 'Jessie' or 'Mr. Matthew' had never planned to show that side of himself… 

"He got called-" 

"Lieutenant Blake, Mr. Blake wants to see you." The announcement broke the child's answer and Dorothy saw a flinch before a nod.

"Excuse me. I'm needed." 

Dorothy watched with curious eyes as Onie Blake quietly walked away. Those clothes he wore were a size too large for him, curious… of course, it wasn't her problem if he wants to wear that… 'I didn't know that Blake had a son…' He hadn't mentioned that fact. Two interesting people… Yet, how could a father let a child live in this place?

"Tell me, Wallace, why was Jessie Matthew never brainwashed?" Onie's case was easy.  He was Blake's son, why should he brainwash him? It would just ruin the parent-child relationship.

The man frowned for a moment while he collected his thoughts… Then, as if a moon slowly appearing from behind a dark cloud, he answered rather mechanically. "He is our doctor. Mr. Blake does not want to cloud his brains."

In the olden days, a brainwashed person would not have been able to answer such a question, but this… Blake had gone through so much improvement! Although, he was quite right not to 'cloud' a doctor's mind… "Why was he called?"

"Something happened to Training Troops five through ten."

She was astounded once again. The answer was said in his usual monotonous tone yet the mere fact that he had an understanding of what's happening at the same time… It's amazing how Blake had managed such mind control… "I want to see the ER."

"Yes, Ms. Catalonia… Anything you say."

'Anything I say…' Dorothy smiled as she followed the man… That sounded wonderful…

They stopped just outside a large window that overlooked a sizeable room, separated into two. One room was filled with men and women, bloody… missing hands… torn flesh that showed those white, minuscule holed skin and muscles…

Dorothy nearly threw up but she held her head high and focused on the many people who were walking around the beds, trying to comfort the very few screaming, moaning, crying mindless patients… Uncannily, the majority of the other patients who had the same amount of injury were just sitting on the floor without even blinking an eye! Dorothy shook her head. 'Why do they even bother? These people doesn't have any life to live…' 

Her attention was snagged by that broad shouldered man- a spurt of blood rained over his head and fell on his white cap but he didn't care while his hands played God… He was fighting… fighting for the inevitable… His face, just a little while ago funny and uncaring, now warrior-like with so much power, and yet… so helpless…

Dorothy shifted her weight on one leg while she crossed her arms over her chest. "Doctor Matthew is one interesting character…"

"Yes, Ms. Catalonia… I suppose that he is…"

A slow, deliberate smile lifted the corner of her lips, while a finger tapped her lower lips and her arctic blue eyes observed the man downstairs like an ant in a glass…

{**_Heartfire's Note_**: I apologize for leaving some of you hanging for over a month. (Some of you might have already read this in my Biblio section) School started, and I... well... let us just say that 80% of my time is used up doing school work/school related/school activities, and the other 20% is used to do some... acceptable household chores...

Also, I had a run of bad luck start me off... I got into a car accident recently (it seems that car accidents has been happening too much) which was not my fault... but I'm suffering from it. Let us just say that writing stories is a bit too much of a chore for my back, and neck... If I'm even awake enough to write due to the medicines prescribed by the doctors. 

I am still trying to write, but with the rate it is going, I will apologize early on if I pause here and there. 

To those who are still reading my stories, thank you-- and to those who are disappointed with some of my pairings, I'll say... just skip that part ^_~ 

Take care everyone. } 


	50. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 2

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Two**

By Heartfire 

~*~

She watched him.

Every Thursday, a new set of troops were sent out to training grounds set with all possible dangers… not only was Blake creating mindless soldiers, he was also making the perfect ones…  Brainless with instincts… Unafraid of death because they have no personal opinions, no feelings, and no future to look forward to… And every Thursday, Matthew would run into the Emergency room and help those in need until near to faint- which had never happened, but…  it seemed near to happening every time.

She watched him now, in that small room above head… According to one of the orderlies, he'd been in there for nearly eight hours straight… And just a few minutes ago, it was over… His latest patient died…

Bloody hands raked through his dark, thick mop of hair before he looked up and glared at the camera… at the camera just beside her… then it hit her… 

'That look couldn't have come from a weakling that he tries to exude…' 

She walked down the stairs and rounded the corner where he exited.

'That look couldn't have come from someone he was portraying…'

He was sitting against the wall, with his knees near his chest and his face in his hands when she reached him… The epitome of a miserable man…

And now, she knew why he had piqued her curiosity from the very start… It was because… he was a fake. "Who are you?"

Jessie slowly looked up from his hands to her indifferent face, hard and lifeless… He's tired… he doesn't have the strength to fight her right now. "I'm tired, Ms. Catalonia… I'm dirty… I don't think you'd want any blood stains on your beautiful clothing…"

His high-pitched voice raked through her. "So… Even when you're tired, Mr. Matthew, you still intend to play your game…?"

Jessie dropped his head down on his knees once again. He's not in the mood… not right now. He can't battle with her. "What game?" 

Dorothy's cold eyes narrowed. "You are trying to make us think that you're someone you're not… even now… But I'm onto you, Matthew…"

"I'm tired, Ms. Catalonia."

"I'm onto you… I'm not about to let anyone blotch this project… And when I find out who you really are… You'd be out of this project in a nanosecond."

The clicking of her heels echoed through the deserted hallway. How he wasn't able to hear that noise before she reached him, he could only blame on himself… He was too preoccupied with Wells' death… But if her threat was true…

"Not if I could help it, Ms. Catalonia… Not if I could help it…" He dawdled in this place far too long… 

**…**

Dorothy's lips disappeared to a thin, white line as she stared at the results from the computer. She had just hacked into the main data systems, into Blake's personal records… but she could only garner the surface of this whole operation.

"So you were sent here by Morley…" She leaned against the backrest of her chair. "That was very intelligent of him… Knowing that Blake wouldn't be able to turn down anything from his highest benefactor and that Blake wouldn't meddle with his brain because he's a doctor… well… I give you my hats off, Morley…"

Dorothy stood up from her chair, her perfect nails trailing the edge of her desk as she thought of what she must do.

"We have a spy…"

She looked outside her windows and remembered that day she arrived. How she had stared at this land of nothing, surrounded by a clutter of trees… She saw nothing and thought she was being played with. Then… Mr. Blake drew out a card, pressed something against one of the well-made trees that opened into a panel, pushed the card inside the slot and viola! Right before her very eyes, a greenish glow emulated around the open space and slowly… An outline of a building showed, and then the very thing…  The whole base was invisible!

With one last look at Matthew's records, she shook her head. "Nothing personal, Matthew, but… I can't let you blotch up my plans…"

She faced the compact closet and slowly stripped off her clothing then she grabbed a black one-piece suit and donned it. "Time to go to work…"

Dorothy propped her door open and checked the camera… waited until it was facing away from her door then quickly walked to the camera, reached up, and did her job. The small red light behind the camera disappeared and Dorothy's right lip tilted up. 'One down, four to go…'

She had timed each numbered camera to the minuscule detail, observed, pulled in the information, and studied how to… misuse it.  By the time she arrived at the third camera and reached up, she frowned.

She tried once again to make sure that her sense of touch wasn't giving her illusions, and sure enough… someone had already tampered with it…

Her frown intensified after she checked the last two cameras and found both in the same condition… Her hand gripped her gun by the time she reached the main control system at the end of the path… had it out by the time she pressed the code for the door, and had it ready to fire by the time the door opened.

The sight that greeted her was a person in black, half the body inside one of the control units while the bottom half was protruding… the firm butt was an easy mark for her if she dared use it as a target practice…

"As children would say when they play hide and seek… Come out, come out where ever you are…" Her sarcastic, commanding voice did not belie the threat and the owner of the butt, in hugging suit, just as jet black as hers, slowly came out from inside the panel's controls.

"Keep your hands where I can see them… Slowly…" She made sure that he- obviously a he- had his hands out- very far away from his body. "Good… I'm glad to see that you have reason enough in that brain of yours to follow my orders… even if you exude no reason by trying to sabotage this project."

"I was not trying to sabotage this project… Miss Catalonia…"

Dorothy frowned at the all male voice. She'd never heard him before… how come he knew her…? Her eyes widened as she stared into a familiar back… A back she had observed for the past three Thursdays.

Jessie…!

There was only one more thing that was screaming to come out of her mouth… a question that she couldn't stop from asking-

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"


	51. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 3

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Three**

**By Heartfire**

~*~

Slowly, Jessie turned around, hands still high above his head to show that he was going to go through this ordeal peacefully… Not that he was being given a choice… She was the one with a gun pointed to his head. "Good evening." Jessie nodded, waved his hand in the air, then grinned as if they were just two people, meeting under normal circumstances. Dorothy's right eyebrow shot up along with her anger. "That was not the answer I was looking for. Explain what you were doing to the system, Mr. Matthew… if that's even your name." 

Jessie gave an innocent shrug… What could he say? "I'm… what you may call an… efficiency expert…" 

"Sent by Morley, if I'm correct." Dorothy could only imagine what kind of 'efficiency' Morley had in mind.

Jessie grinned as his eyes focused on the curves set against the dim lighting inside the room. "So… somebody had been doing her homework." He winked at her, he couldn't help it. "Glad to see that you're curious enough about me to check me out."

Her cold blue eyes narrowed. "If you think that I'm buying that, Matthew, you must have thought I was stupid."

He saw that she knew more than he gave her credit for. "I was hoping for that option."

"I'm glad to disappoint you."

A sarcastic grunt escaped Jessie's mouth at her answer. "Yeah… I can see that." He checked the unwavering gun. "Aren't you going to put that away yet?"

"No."

Her singular answer made him look up at the ceiling, as if praying.  "Now why can't we establish trust here?"

"Probably because you have guns on both your legs and another inserted in your belt behind you." Dorothy's eyes challenged him.

Jessie's grin widened, appreciating her quick to detail eyes. "How about if I give you my word?"

"Why should I trust a word from someone who crawls around like a worm and messes around security cameras with guns plastered all over his body? And… should I mention, using a bad disguise?"

Jessie closed his eyes… okay, she's got him pinned… then again… he's used to taking chances. His arms moved. 

"I told you not to move!" 

He let her threat pass him by like a night breeze and very slowly began to bring his hands to cross over his chest in a cocky pose. "You wouldn't dare to shoot, Ms. Catalonia… Your gun will wake up the whole center and they will question why you are wearing that outfit with a gun in your hands, standing in the middle of the control room."

Dorothy's fingers itched to pull the trigger but he spoke the truth… 'I should have brought my silencer.' She dropped her hand to her side just as his hands met over his chest and crossed.

"I knew you wouldn't." Jessie's confident smile cajoled Dorothy to laugh along. Instead, he only got a look that would have probably made a hardened criminal quiver in his shoes.

"Lucky guess."

Their hard gazes met over the telecommunications table, challenging and taunting.

"How could you be sure? You don't know me, Ms. Catalonia."

Their eyes didn't falter through their silent battle.

"I don't plan to."

A slow, breath taking smile appeared on his lips… The funny thing was, she'd seen him smile before but this time… it was so different… it was utterly… shatteringly… masculine.

"Then, how would you know why I'm truly here?" He started to move, to walk back where he came from because what use was it to just stand around, talking to an arctic woman? Although… She does look hot in that outfit, and she does pull strings of interests…

Dorothy stayed her ground, gun still gripped in her hand. He was walking towards her. He was going to leave but she wanted answers…  "I was hoping that you wouldn't have to make it difficult and just answer."

He reached her, just a step away, and he was planning to just walk around her but… he stopped. Damn but he stopped! Why? Her blasted perfume! Her blasted subtle, sweet, sexy, mind numbing perfume that he couldn't help but breathe! Already, he could feel the inevitable meltdown through his system. "Tell me, Ms. Catalonia…" He must get a grip on himself! 

She never looked away from his eyes but at the same time, she became aware of how broad his shoulders were against the dimness of the room… how his eyes pierced through her. He stepped nearer, eliminating that small distance between them… and then… she was suddenly aware of his full masculinity. She willed herself not to falter, not to waver… It would just never do! But when he leaned down and then stopped just inches away from her face, his nose so near her neck that she could feel his every breath, she couldn't help but mentally gulp.

What he was about to say flew from his mind. He should never had leaned down and took in the impact, but he did… Now what? What was he going to say? "You smell good enough to eat…"

That was uncalled for… She was ready for anything but that innuendo! She opened her lips for a retort that would make his ears turn red but… his lips suddenly got in the way. He rubbed his lips over hers. Slowly, he made tormenting nibbles then the languid strokes of his tongue came and those lazy nips on her lower lip… 

She hadn't expected any reaction at all… There had _never_ been a male specimen that was able to bring forth even an ounce of feelings from her, and she thought that she would not get any from this play-acting man… but she did- a good, hard, kick in the butt jolt that suddenly sent her mind reeling. Did she tilt her head upwards, or was it his doing?

He was only supposed to ask her something… only supposed to leave after he gave his sadistic _commento_ but… he got side tracked and met his untimely accident. He must stop… stop or else this woman would just get in his way… bad…  With a moan, he ripped his lips away from hers, took a few seconds to look at her face to see if she was as shaken as he was- possibly because of his big ego- and found that her face was as schooled as before. 

Reality check. 

Ego blasted to bits. 

This was the arctic he just tried to melt, and it was his sun that got frozen!

Trying to appear nonplussed, he stepped away. "Well… excuse that little display. I don't know where it came from… but take it from me, Ms. Catalonia…" He lazily looked over her body and found himself burning as he stared at those luscious curves that his hands were suddenly itching to touch. "You wouldn't want Mr. Blake to find you in that outfit, inside the control tower, and with a gun in your hand… now, would you?" 

Enough said… He turned away too quickly to notice the sudden blue fire that erupted in Dorothy's eyes. 

She glared at him… was that a threat? To her? With a purpose, she silently walked towards him and before he could open the door, her hand snaked to his shoulder and pulled him around. His body collided against the wall and she pinned him with her hands on his shoulders and knee against his stomach. Then, because his dark chocolate eyes were suddenly so wide and surprised that it was so… cute, and because his lips was suddenly there… She kissed him. Not slow and haunting like the way he did, but hard and furious. 

Heat singed and sizzled in the air and their eyes closed. Jessie suddenly wanted to put his arms around her waist just as she felt the urge to push her fingers through his thick mop of hair…

That thought made her eyes open wide and reflexively pushed him away. Her breathing was haggard and her heartbeat was wild, just as Jessie's were, if she took time enough to listen to how he was trying to breathe… but she was too preoccupied with what she'd done to notice. "Don't ever threaten me again…" With her head held high, she moved away.

The next thing he saw was a wave of golden strands then she was gone. A hand went up to his pounding head and he swallowed consecutively to get his suddenly dried throat working once again… Then his eyes widened as he stared at the door… She left before he did… there's a camera facing him… what if she just-

"Shit." He pulled out his handkerchief and grimaced at the idea of putting it on his nose and mouth but there was no other way… He couldn't let the camera catch his face! He'd just have to make a run for it. "Damn you Catalonia." How could he let his guard down?!

He opened the door and saw, to his surprise, the camera, still frozen in place… and the red light… still safe! His eyes batted, frowned, and made sure that- yep. 

A slow smile appeared on his lips once again as he started to walk back the way he came from, covering his tracks… 

She didn't… hadn't left him to the dogs! 'Why?'

He reached his bunk and went inside, then instantly dropped on his bed while he positioned his hands behind his head. 'Why?'

He breathed in deeply, his senses still tingly from that encounter and his nostrils took in her scent. Jessie frowned, grabbed his shirtfront and pulled it up to his nose while he leaned down.

A groan erupted from his lips as he plopped back on his pillow. Her damn perfume had seeped into his clothes! Better get it off before he gets a sleepless night from this… although…

"A woman wouldn't kiss a man back and save his ass for nothing… right?"

A gleam appeared in those sinfully dark chocolate eyes of his as he contemplated all possible terms… Maybe it was time he reassessed his files on Ms. Dorothy Catalonia… and seal it with a kiss…


	52. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 4

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Four** **By Heartfire**

~*~

She avoided him the whole day- thankfully! How she was able to do it, she had no idea. She's just happy that she did… All right. So she doesn't want to face him yet, she's trying to elude that frustrating person… but…  She still had to come to grip with what she had done last night. 

'Last night…'

Her throat dried at the thought of him… What had happened to her? Does she not have complete control over her emotions? Had she not surpassed all emotional and mental preparations to be unfeeling? Why was it that this one person was able to make her lose control?!

Was this how Heero Yuy felt for Relena?

She shook her head and yanked her door open, still contemplating her predicament… She turned, still unaware of anything but the fact that she must focus on regaining control… Then she stopped as her eyes fell upon a long stemmed, blood red rose on top of her pillow…

A frown appeared on her perfect face as she walked to it, touched and held its stem with one hand and took the small card with another.

Thank you for a lovely evening rendezvous

- Jessie

Her right eyebrow shot up and she tried to squash the feeling of lithe joy that started to pump through her veins. She should throw away this perfect rose… and yet, she found herself taking a cup from her bathroom and placing that small flower in there… 

After changing, she lay on her bed, and glanced at it… She must talk to him sometime soon- after she finishes sorting out her muddled thoughts…

**…**

She knew every nook and cranny by now, having spent nearly a month in this invisible domain. Just too bad that she wasn't able to obtain the information she wanted… It'd be a shame if the technological advances that Blake had developed would just suddenly… blow up. Too bad that the first time she finally got everything down… someone just had to be in the control room. Since then, there was never a perfect time.

Dorothy's eyes widened as she saw a familiar face in the middle of a group of soldiers.

'It couldn't be!' She moved forward, intending to find out if the person she saw was truly _him_… Trying to look unnoticeable, she pulled the first flower she saw and brought it to her face to act as if enjoying its smell while she was actually observing the man…

That brown hair that was covering half the face… those serious forest green eyes… "Trowa Barton…"

The marching troop turned then started walking towards her direction, giving her ample time to re-evaluate her observation. He hadn't given her any sign of recognition… could it be that he was brainwashed? Every single person in this center had been, except for the medics, and a few others… Then again… following Trowa Barton's history… he never showed much emotion, just like Heero Yuy… And, he also worked independently… But the question was… if he's working independently, was he on her side or someone else's?

She quickly looked down at the flower she had pulled when she realized that she was staring. 'Surprises and more surprises… why couldn't this be a regular one? Oh… of course… having an invisible center isn't exactly regular, is it?'

Sunlight glittered off the petals of the daffodil, making her smile. The flower was beautiful… She does have an affinity for yellow and gold… maybe it's because gold was power… a symbol of money and strength…

Dorothy brought it to her nose to breathe in its fragrance when something whitish cream suddenly moved on one of its petals. She nearly grew cross-eyed in shock!!!

With a gasp of something in the middle of shock and disgust, she threw the daffodil as far away from her as possible then quickly turned around and promptly collided against someone. 

Hands went around her waist reflexively while her own hands reached up in front instinctively, then she looked up and stared into _his_ grinning face…

"Why Ms. Catalonia… I didn't know that you would be this excited to see me! If I had known…" Actually, he just saw her looking like a perfect statue while she held that daffodil- serene and stony yet lovely to look at… Strands of gorgeous blonde played with the soft breeze that swept through them and he saw how her large, catlike eyes, the color of gleaming sapphire, could sparkle with fury.

His innuendo grated her already frayed nerves. "Let me go, Matthew."

Her ice-cold voice made his grin disappear and he instantly let her go. She quickly took a step back. Once again, he was reminded of her… damn to hell attitude, which was usually not his type in a woman… "So… why did you throw a perfectly good flower away?"

Her eyes slanted to sharp knives that could have slit him in half. "Because if there's anything in the world I hate most… it's a worm." She placed the inflection on the last word that hinted she considered him a part of that class.

Jessie flinched playfully although she did hit a nerve. "Ouch… So now, I'm a worm, eh?" 

"Give me one good reason why I should think otherwise." Dorothy pulled the edge of her blouse, trying to bring back order on her clothing and not knowing that the V collar of her blouse inched lower, showing more flesh than it probably should.

Jessie's eyes grabbed a quick look at the creamy valley and then gritted his teeth as he felt himself respond yet once again. 'Better keep playing, pal…' Especially because he's going nowhere fast…  "Oh… I don't know… my good looks, charm… bubbly personality… compared to your cold, indifferent, huffy one?"

Her jaw nearly dropped at his forwardness- not to mention that no one had ever talked to her like that! She pushed a finger to his chest while at the same time, gave a look around to make sure that no one was looking. "You are a liar, Mr. Matthew- if that is even your true last name… At least I show my true self." She met his eyes unflinchingly and didn't say the last part of her sentence. 'Although not my true intent…'

Okay, this woman had stepped on him more times than the welcome mat in the front entrance of the center had been stepped on! "Let's get one thing straight, Ms. Catalonia." Jessie grabbed the hand that burned a hole through his chest. It was soft and delicate, such a contrast from her hard personality. "You hate me because you think I'm sabotaging this project and I hate you because I think this project doesn't need you… But," He pulled her hand forward and made her collide against his chest. Her perfume enveloped his senses once again and the feel of her soft breasts against his hard chest was torture… Though, the mere fact that she still met his eyes unflinchingly was making him a fan of hers… "No one can dispute the fact that there are fireworks between us." 

Before Dorothy could object, his hand cupped the back of her head and searing hot lips suddenly encompassed her mouth, rendering her senseless. His velvety tongue outlined her lips and incited her response until she dueled with him. Their beat became faster, more demanding as fire exploded in them and her hands went around his neck to pull him down some more while his other hand went around her waist to bring her in.

The sounds of marching feet slowly penetrated through their deep haze and it seemed that reason came along with it because they both instantly pulled away. 

Dorothy tried to get her breath back and a feeling of satisfaction went through her when she noticed that he was as blown away as she was… but that didn't cover the fact that- "I hate you…"

Jessie grinned, happy as a boy who got exactly what he wanted for Christmas- and more! "I know… but you kissed me back." 

Her lips drew to a thin line, the very hint that she was on the verge of her last strands of patience. She was trying to find the right word for him… so many words but one left her lips… one that she wasn't truly proud of because she wanted a harsher word for him. "Jerk."

Jessie's grin widened… So, she's a normal person after all… "Jerk-ette." He watched her blue eyes turn a shade darker in anger and her hands opened and closed as if she wasn't sure whether to sock him or slap him… He was expecting both actually… but to his surprise, she just spun around and walked away in an obvious trying-not-to-stomp walk.

She doesn't need… doesn't want this… Her life's complicated enough. Not to mention that… she has work to do. She stopped. She must put an end to this game. "Jessie, stay away from me. I am not a toy you play with and leave after you'd had enough. When I play… I play hard."

_'Females aren't toys Jess… Remember that for our sake, okay?'_ One of his sisters' advices came back to him like a long forgotten song… His palm slammed against his forehead. He was raised better than that! He was raised with respect for women! And what did he do? He did exactly what he was told not to do… he was following his damn libido… But God! When he kissed her… the world literally reeled! 

Besides… she's not the only one who has a chance to get hurt… They were enemies but they're attracted to each other… Maybe its better her way- ignore it… but maybe it would be better to get it off their system, too… Because if he read her correctly… she's as struck as he was!

He's not going to hurt her… he'll make sure that no one gets hurt and that the terms are set in place… He had never felt anything the way he did for Ms. Catalonia and he just wants to see what the hell it was before it drives him crazy! So… no fire or hail could stop him…


	53. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 5

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Five** **By Heartfire**

~*~

'All right… call me pragmatic… call me an idiot… a moron… or better yet,' He thought of her, '… a jerk… I should start giving up on that woman but hell no… I can't seem to…' He tried every trick in the book. He made sure he was around her every time he could. He made sure that his presence was known… Stared at her like a lovesick puppy- okay, that one wasn't planned… it just kind of happened once or twice and then….

He'd try to bump against her and leave flowers from Onie's garden in her room… He's making the entire race of mankind embarrassed with what he's been doing and she still- still!!!- has yet to look his way! Why the hell wasn't he getting a single reaction from her? Even a glance of annoyance would give him a hint! He was brooding so much that he wasn't aware of his surroundings once again...

**…**

He had stared at her again… She wished she didn't have to eat at the cafeteria. She almost couldn't with the way he was focused on her! Her hands were shaking and… Argh! This has got to stop. What was he trying to accomplish?!!! 

She looked up and the very person she was thinking of was walking towards her with his head down, looking at the floor… It was almost as if – if there was a God- he had sent this person her way to finish this once and for all.

She walked to him with a purpose… Her eyes were blazed with checked anger and her hands were just itching to bury themselves into his arrogant pretty face.

The next thing Jessie knew, he was slammed against the wall with one arm pressed against his neck. His eyes focused on ice blue fire ones and both his eyebrows went up in surprise. Dorothy!

"When the hell are you going to stop?!" 

She spoke with barely contained anger… barely contained anger meaning… maybe she wasn't so unaffected…? A slow grin appeared on his face with that thought in mind. "Hi."

"What is your problem?! Are you so sexually deprived that you would blatantly show such disrespect?!"

That comment poked a hot iron rod through him and the initial happy surprise he felt instantly disappeared in hot fire. "Excuse me, but I'm not sexually deprived. I had been quite happy with my sex life, thank you. I don't even know why the hell I'm attracted to you! My types are usually brunettes or redheads who are warm as honey and who wants me. Not some arrogant ice queen."

What he said created a worming hole within her, for reasons unknown to her. "If I'm not your type, then why are you trying so hard?!"

Her question verbalized his personal thoughts… Why was he so attracted to her??? 'Why?' A sigh of frustration escaped his lips and he looked away. "I don't know! If I could stop myself, I would, but I couldn't." 

The helplessness in his voice was not expected. She lessened the pressure against his neck unconsciously. He's being truthful. If she were truthful to herself, she'd be saying the exact same thing.

He looked back at her and their eyes met. The magnetism between them erupted and Jessie reached out and touched her face. He saw her eyes darken, saw her sudden intake of breath… "You can feel it too… can't you? We're going to be good for each other…"

Dorothy shook her head and tried to gain back reason. She whipped her face away and stepped back. "I don't want it. I don't want you. Stay away."

"Why?" Jessie stepped forward. He could see something in her well-guarded eyes… something akin to… hurt? Something she doesn't want anyone see…

'Because I will never let a man touch me…' She silently recited her creed of long ago before she turned away. As much as she wanted it to stop, as much as she wanted herself to not tell him anything, words still flowed from her lips. "I don't want it to happen. No good would come out of it." Her eyes were closed when she felt his tender touch on her shoulder… The hand that had saved so many lives… 

"Dorothy… we're both reasonable adults… Tell me truthfully that you don't feel what I feel… and I'll stay away from you."

She was about to answer 'No' when she was suddenly turned around and before she could protest, he leaned down and kissed her with so much care and tenderness… so much softness that it… she… she… her eyes closed once again.

It was over too soon. Jessie had to keep a firm hold on himself while he kissed her because she was like water to a thirsty man. "Ball is in your court, Dorothy Catalonia…" He stepped away from her then walked down the hall while he tried so hard not to look back.

She opened her eyes and they glistened against the dim yellow lights of the long hallway. A hand slowly went up to touch her lips, pressed against it then a shuddering breath went through her… Why was she so troubled? Why was she so shaken? Why was it that she feels so… lost?

He was an enemy. Everyone in this base was her enemy… except maybe for… no… even _he_ may be an enemy. But then, how could it feel so right whenever Jessie kisses her? Whenever his arms were around her?

She had not grown up in a loving environment. She had grown up to see how affections could have an effect on people, but she had learned about pain and death too quickly, too often, and too much that she had made sure she would never be touched by so again… yet this time, it seemed as though she had just met pain and death once again. 

When she's with Jessie… she feels more… alive, such as she had never felt in her entire life…

_'Ball is in your court, Dorothy Catalonia…'_

"My court…" Dorothy softly whispered to no one as she turned around and slowly walked away to the other direction.


	54. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 6

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Six** By Heartfire 

~*~

She crept stealthily through the small patch of forest within the Center. According to her research, Trowa Barton was assigned over Sector 74, a secured area that even she cannot enter. She wanted to talk to him… or at least see if he had been brainwashed…

No… That option shouldn't even be considered. Blake wouldn't let just anyone guard his center, so there couldn't be any doubt that… he was brainwashed. A feeling akin to sympathy coursed through her at the thought of Trowa, then of Quatre… Sweet Quatre who had never stopped calling just to make sure that she was all right… a good friend- if she would ever let him move to that position… but she never did. She was too afraid of emotional imbalances. It would upset her once… again…

Her train of thought paused when she saw Trowa, walking with a purpose, parallel to her path. Without thinking, she followed him from a good distance, to the outer sector where she lost him in the thick, dense trees.

Slightly irritated, she scanned her surroundings, but she didn't see a single clue as to where he went. Well, she might as well start looking.

She finally found him, talking to a slim, blonde woman… The woman stomped her foot in frustration and Dorothy saw anger on Trowa's usually placid face…

'So… he was never brainwashed… neither was she.' The surprised thought overcame her… Relief coursed through her. She watched as Trowa grabbed the woman's wrist and told her something- demanded something… The tension around the woman disappeared, replaced by utter deject and then her whole body went limp.

Trowa let her go and the moment she was free, she ran away… away from him…  A look of utter despair came over Trowa's face.

'What just happened?' The only thing her mind could process was that… these two had somehow overcome Blake's mind control… but how? 

Almost as if he sensed he was being watched, Trowa turned around and met her eyes. Dorothy stood up from where she had been hiding. There was no use hiding, after all… 

Trowa Barton was an ally… an ally in a lose-lose kind of relationship because they both know a secret about each other… but what of the girl?

She stood up then frowned when she saw that flicker of surprise in Trowa's eyes. Surprise at the sight of her… Yet, had he not seen her before? Why was he so surprised? 'Maybe he's afraid I'll tell…?' Acting instinctively, she shook her head and placed a finger over her lips. 

Somehow, Trowa understood why she was there… and that she would not divulge him. As though something called to him, he turned to look at the compound, the opposite of the way the woman had ran to. Curious, she turned to look just as the emergency lights flickered on and off.

_"Lieutenant Matthew, Lieutenant Matthew, please report to the Emergency room."  _

'Thursday…' That was the only thought that came to mind, forgetting Trowa, when her feet moved to the direction her heart ached to be, unknown by her reasonable mind. She stopped where she usually observed him… in that room above head.

All two weeks she had tried her best to ignore him… to not lay sight of him… yet now, here she was, drowning for a small vision of him…

He seemed a different man today… She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but… he seemed… tired?  She stayed as long as he did. She didn't even bother to check her watch, only to make sure that he had something to drink while he operated on the patient. Once she saw that his cup of water was empty, she had gone to one of the orderlies and made sure that his next drink had ice in it… 

Her hand went out to touch the glass when she saw his frantic movements. The once beeping green light had turned to a straight line and she could almost feel his desperate agony while he shocked his patient again and again… Two of his assistants had to hold his arms to make him stop… another two grabbed for the instruments grasped in his hands… and then she saw how his shoulders slumped… he finally realized that the man on the table was dead… 

They let him go… She had wanted to go to him… but for the first time in her life, she had finally accepted… She's afraid…

'I'm scared…' 

The hand on the ceiling high mirror went back to her side as she stilled her body, forced her body not to move to the man who was obviously in pain below… He left the room through the same doors she had seen that third Thursday and she could already picture him against the wall with his head in his hands… 

The vision she created tugged at her heart… How could she have not seen what he was going through during that time? How could she have not seen his pain?

A sigh escaped her lips before she moved away from the mirror and finally walked back to her room. So much to think about… She couldn't even remember the woman Trowa was talking to, but she knew that after she'd sorted her muddled thoughts, she'd remember her.  For now, she must come to terms…

**…**

He'd finally shaken himself from that state of depression- finally! People were starting to wonder… well, his orderlies anyway… nurses and the Blakes… He must keep his smile in place and his damn hot pink lab coat. These past few days were just the worst ever. Onie's little accident- thank God Blake was away!- his patient's death…

And what about Ms. Dorothy Catalonia? 

A huff escaped his lips and he turned to his other side. 'To hell with Ms. Catalonia…' The very thought heightened his senses and he caught a whiff of that perfume of hers from his dark suit. Jessie rolled his eyes in frustration then buried his face into the pillow. "I have got to bring that to the cleaners!!!" 

He twisted this way and that some more until his blankets lay askew around his legs then with a frustrated growl, he stood up and donned his shirt. There's only one thing he could do now…

He walked to the door with one thought in mind- follow mom's advice.

"Hot chocolate… I need hot chocolate…" Maybe that'll ease his stress and make him relaxed enough to-

He stilled in his tracks when his eyes fell on the person before of him, leaning against the wall in front of his door… dressed in seductive light yellow silk that hinted of unending curves and slopes…

"Okay… Maybe I already fell asleep and I didn't know about it…"

The evident shock on his face… that unconscious coherent mumble… it was so adorable that she couldn't help the slow curve on her lips…

Jessie took a double take. He _was_ dreaming! Did he just saw Dorothy Catalonia smile??? In all these weeks, he'd never seen her do such a thing- and damn!!! It's creating havoc in him… 'Wonder what would happen if this was for real…'

She was just walking around… just trying to pry and straighten her muddled thoughts then she found herself standing in front of his door…  She stood there for God knew how long… and she didn't even know what she was waiting for! She didn't until… his door opened and he came out looking so ruffled and utterly male in low-slung pajama pants and shirt that showed his muscles that…

Her heartbeat kicked… So… how should she start this? She had never really gone up to a man and… well…  "Let me get one thing straight… The ball is in my court, correct?"

Jessie frowned in confusion and nodded at the same time. He hadn't expected that statement from her.

Dorothy kept her eyes on his face as she stepped closer. She doesn't really know what she should do but… she followed her instincts and let her body do the talking. Her hands reached up to his shoulders- he was a head taller than her- just perfect- and slowly went behind his neck.

She saw his eyes darken and felt strength and power from within her. A smile lit her face, delighted at such a feeling and then she pulled him down to her lips to taste him… to feel those firm lips on hers… to play with his tongue…

He couldn't be dreaming- not when his whole body was this hot and tingly and… damn! "Dorothy… Dorothy what… what are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Dorothy's hands slowly trailed a path down his muscles and she felt them ripple under her fingers. Excitement and arousal bubbled within her.

'Oh damn she's killing me!' His hands went around her small waist and felt no hindrance of underwear within those soft folds of electrifying silk… "Dorothy… I…" He kissed her lips and then focused on her lower lip. "I… You… You need to tell… me…"

He felt her smile. She couldn't help but smile! How delightful of him to still wait for her like that… Ah well, time to give him a little lesson about herself. Dorothy pushed him into his room then she closed his door with one swift push from her foot.

"Too bad… I never… tell…"

**…**

Their breathing was haggard as they lay atop each other on the small bed made only for one… Her silken strands of hair covered half his chest while his arm was around her back in a locked embrace.

"Any regrets?"

Dorothy slowly shook her head then placed her ear back where she could hear his heartbeat. "None at all."

"This changes everything, you know…" They are going to live reality soon… they have to settle everything down before… something happens…

"This changes everything, yet it changes nothing." Dorothy pushed herself up from his chest to face him, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulders.

Jessie nodded. "We're enemies…"

"Nothing can change that." Her eyes were as serious as his and didn't falter from his gaze.

"Unless of course if one of us opens up…" 

Dorothy raised her eyebrow at him. 

Jessie gave an embarrassed grin. "It was just a suggestion."

"I can not see myself doing that…"

"Yes. Neither could I…" It's not yet time.

"I don't trust you." Dorothy rolled off his chest to lie on her side. She was being truthful… for her sake and his.

"And I don't trust you… but…" His hands reached for her hands and his thumbs rubbed her inner wrists slowly, inciting a tremble within her. "That doesn't change the fact that I like you…"

Dorothy let him hold her wrists for a couple of minutes more before she pulled away and turned from him… Nothing could change that one fact.

Silence encompassed the room that once erupted with moans of pleasure.

With a sigh, Dorothy brought her feet onto the floor and then grabbed her nightgown and robe at the same time. Jessie could only watch as she donned her clothing but when she finally stood up, he couldn't stop himself and reached out.

His large, warm hand suddenly anchored her right hand. Somehow, she knew that even if she struggled with all her might, he would never let go…

"May… May I see you again? Tomorrow?" He sounded too hopeful, almost akin to begging and damn! He had never begged in his entire life- well, save for his parents and sisters!

His uncertain voice made her smile softly and without turning back, she gave her answer. "You may…" She would like to see him again.

Jessie smiled and his hold slackened. 

Dorothy moved away, a hand around the thin strand of silk around her waist that served as her belt and an idea struck her mind.  "After all… I," She pulled the belt away from the robe then dropped it on the ground. "… forgot something with you…"

His eyes followed the slow, fluttering drop of her thin scrap of silk and when he looked up, she was gone… His right lip turned up in half a smile before he stood up from his bed in all his naked glory and then bent down to pick that one memento she gave…

"See you tomorrow…"


	55. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 7

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Seven** By Heartfire 

~*~

Her day started with a daffodil and a note… How Jessie was able to bring that inside her room without her noticing, she could only blame on… having a long, but wonderful, night.

            Don't worry, I checked for worms.

It was unsigned but who else would give her something like that atop her pillow? There was just something to waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed, ready to work… happy…? Surprised and… a bit raw from sex... She knew she had accomplished something and she liked it.

'Well… time to go to work…' She brought the daffodil near her nose once again to give a small sniff then couldn't help that smile that lighted her face… but by the time she reached her door, she was able to school her expression to her usual one.

**…**

A finger tapped her chin lightly while she waited for the records to show her that woman. Dorothy leaned down and stopped the files then went back a couple of times…  The computer screen showed the woman's stats and picture… It was the same woman Trowa was talking to…

Midii Une…

'I wonder if she is of any relation to Lady Une…' Her stats gave Dorothy a clearer description of the woman, especially since she was too far away to see Midii's eye color and be sure of her height… She came in two weeks before Trowa, or rather, _Tristan_, was brought in… 

'So how come you two seem to know each other?' Fingers tapped their dance over the keyboard in lightning speed as she cross-referenced everything about Midii Une… By mid-afternoon, she found something she should not have been surprised about…

Miss Midii Une was a ghost… 

'Almost like Trowa Barton…' Dorothy leaned back on her chair. 'Could it be that they met before? If so… What? Is she an ally or an adversary?'

Trowa seemed to not trust her, with the questionable way he acted towards her… then again… it could have been… Her eyes glittered as ideas poured in her head. 'Lovers… he's jealous… she did something he didn't approve…' There were numerous reasons and-

Her stomach suddenly growled and the feel of hunger struck her. Dorothy looked down at her stomach with a frown.

"Ms. Catalonia, we are closing the room."

Dorothy glanced up and saw the person in charge of the room for the day… So… she'd been there for the whole day?! 'Dinner was probably over by now…' She may look waiflike but she was one big eater…

A bit angry with herself for missing an entire day of sustenance, she nodded curtly at the man and then walked out of the room. 

'Midii Une… why does her name sound familiar?' She took out her cardkey then inserted it. Her door opened instantly and the smell of food nearly knocked her down.

'What the-' Her gaze fell down on Jessie, sitting on her chair near the table with two plates of food and grinning at her.

He saw the surprise in her eyes before she was able to hide it and loved the feeling that he was the one who gave her that look. "Evenin'…" Jessie stood up, walked to Dorothy and took her card then reached for her hands. Her eyebrow rose at him but he only smiled at her and gently pulled her inside.

The door closed with a hiss…

'What's he doing in my…' The thought disappeared when she remembered last night.

"I didn't see you during breakfast, lunch, or dinner so… I thought you might be hungry and smuggled out some food… I wasn't sure which ones you like but you have two plates to choose from and I've already heated them for you."

She glanced at the plates once again when his hands motioned to them. Meatballs in thick sauce with bread and salad as a side dish and the other was seasoned chicken with mashed potato and gravy… Actually, the food in the Center came as a surprise to her… they were healthy and delicious. A warm feeling enveloped her… Never in her life had anyone done anything so thoughtful as this… it was… touching… 'Oh darn!' She shouldn't feel that way or else!

"I choose both." Dorothy sat down on her chair and willed her hands not to grab for the plates. 

Jessie smiled as he watched her sit gracefully, primly, on her chair, then arrange her skirt to have the lines perfect and not askew… Her methodical action was something he wasn't used to… even though he grew up with four other girls but… they weren't this… formal. He saw her reach for the food and a pleasant thought came to mind. "Wait."

Dorothy looked at him and frowned, unaware of what he wanted her to do.

He didn't know why he was doing this… he certainly had never done this before but… the thought kind of appealed to him. Jessie pushed the plates away from her reach then sat down at the edge of her desk. He could feel Dorothy's frown on him and that made everything more interesting. "So, which one do you want first? Meatballs or chicken?"

"I was aiming for the meatballs." One moment she was feeling soft for this moron, the next- the moment he took away her food- she felt the urge to pierce him with a fork… a very sharp fork.

"Good." He pulled the plate closer to him then started cutting the large meatballs. 

Dorothy frowned, truly unaware of what he was doing that when he turned around with that small piece of meat on his fork and a smile on his face, she could only glare at him.

"Open wide." From that frown of hers… he had this distinctive feeling that no one ever did this to her before—Great!

"What do you think you're- mmphf!" The fork was suddenly in her mouth before she could evade it.

"Good… Are you ready for the next one?" 

Oohh!! She wanted to glare at him… to frown at him… to sock him but… with that sweet smile on his face… and well… being fed… she found herself not having the heart to do it.

To his surprise, after the initial glare, Dorothy's arctic eyes softened to that of warm sky blue and a smile hinted upon her chewing lips. He leaned down and kissed her cute little nose. "Sorry, can't help myself."

Dorothy stopped a grin and languidly leaned against her chair's backrest. "Well… I rather like it… Is that part of my food service?"

"If you want it to be." Jessie reached out to touch her hair and felt that slow arousing feeling course through him.

Dorothy faked a shocked look. "Why Jessie Matthew, you surprise me… I never knew you were so agreeable." She almost laughed at the sudden disgust on his face.

"Only when I want to be… By the way, Dorothy… could you do me a favor?"

Her warm feeling disappeared… 'Treading on choppy waters here…' She crossed her arms over her chest and forced herself not to look at his smile. "A favor from an enemy is dangerous."

Her sudden change was offset by what he had said… Of course she'd suddenly be on guard. He tried his best to keep his smile, made it warmer, if it were possible, and shook his head. "It's not what you think… I just want you to stop calling me that terrible name and call me Jess instead."

It was the least she expected and that slow smile appeared on her lips once again. "Give me my food and my service then I'll think about it… _Jessie_…" The emphasis on that name made him wince once again and she almost couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips.

"You are one demanding little brat." Jessie offered the other quarter of the meatball.

"Of course I am." She opened her mouth and took it in. 'Always had been…'

Jess leaned down and caught her lips in his, once again, surprising her. "I like it…"

The food lay forgotten as her hands slowly reached up for his head… to entwine her fingers through his thick hair… and a different kind of hunger engulfed them…


	56. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 8

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Eight** By Heartfire 

~*~

She left the center the week after that. Her term of visit was over… there was no reason for her to stay… but… she held off Blake about her donation. Somehow, _he_ knew that she was going away, too.

Dorothy glanced at the small polished piece of wood with the engraved words:

            'Till we meet again…'

He gave it to her during their last night, wrapped in a piece of cloth… He asked her to open it after she left, but of course, he probably knew that she wouldn't do as he wished and opened it the moment he left her room… 

Funny… but she actually enjoyed the last week and a half that she spent waking up in Jess's warm embrace…  She had gotten quite used to it that sometimes, when reason has yet to enter her sleepy mind, she would turn and reach for… nothingness…

A knock interrupted her thoughts and she glared at her door without meaning to. Her secretary peeked in and gave an apologetic smile.

"Ms. Catalonia… Excuse me but… there's a delivery for you."

The light in her secretary's eyes made her shift to a defensive mode… Her secretary was usually placid… Why does she have that silly smile on her face, then? She walked out of her office and her eyes instantly fell upon a beautifully arranged vase of daffodils.  

Excitement bubbled through her. There could only be one person responsible for this little thing… "Bring it in my office, Lerraine."

"Yes, Ms. Catalonia." 

She held onto the door until her secretary left her office. "Hold my calls." She didn't wait for a nod or a verbal note and instantly closed her door.

Sad… So sad and disgusting that she couldn't wait to get her hands on those daffodils… smell it… enjoy it… An envelope, so well covered that she almost missed it, caught her attention, and with expecting hands, she opened it.

            Dorothy, 

I was able to wheedle out three days of leave for this month…  I'll be staying at the Plaza Jerome in Luxembourg.  If you find it in your schedule to pencil me in… I would like to see you again…

- Jess

It had been nearly a month since she last saw him…

Her eyes strayed to that polished wood that, she could be sure, was made by Jess's hands… Doubts rose and fell… Doubts that… he might not feel the same for her… Maybe it was just a spur of the moment desire… sexuality under pressure…? Then again, she would never know until they meet once again…

Besides, he gave her the out option in his letter- 'If…'

Her hand reached for a button and pressed it. "Lerraine…" She heard her secretary's efficient voice over the speaker while her hand turned the paper and saw the dates at the back. Jess's day off…

"Cancel my appointments for…"

**…**

She had her wide brimmed hat and sunglasses on… Her white, elegantly cut dress fit the bill of Plaza Jerome's customers. She was actually surprised at his choice of hotel… Then again, she doesn't really know him well… except for his body…

Her gloved hand reached for the drink she had ordered just a few minutes ago while her eyes never left the door. She had done her research before she came to the hotel… She knew when he would log in- or was expected to check in…  She had reserved a room in another hotel just in case… everything would turn out to be a flop. She had made sure that she was hidden behind something to obstruct people's view of her, but not her view of them.  She was ready to meet him.

A hand went to her tummy when she felt that nervous flutter within. Clashing thoughts fought in her mind. Why was she nervous? There was nothing to be nervous about… Nothing to worry about… He doesn't know that she was coming… Doesn't know that she was there… She had the advantage… He made sure that she had the advantage-

Her thoughts halted when she saw him walk inside those automatic doors. He was in all black, such as she was in all white, except for her sunglasses. His thick black hair was a bit tousled from the wind outside, but it looked perfect on him, adding to that mischievous look she knew all too well. The fluttering in her stomach multiplied and her palms became sweaty. 

'He looks good in black…' Her eyes raked over him… it was the first time she'd seen him out of his usual white and pink lab coat. 'Very good…'

His eyes went around the lounge as if he was looking for someone and she knew, deep down, that he was looking for her.  It was obvious that he didn't see her, as planned, and she saw how he had bitten his lower lip with his straight white teeth, forced his eyes to look straight and walked to the counter.

She couldn't understand her body's reaction. She had wanted to fly off the chair and into his arms… kiss the hell out of him and knock him over the head if he even gave a second glance to any of the women who were staring at him when he came in.

Dorothy stood up with a smirk. 'Too bad, girls… he's mine…' The personal, and very possessive thought jarred her and left her cold… It made her want to turn around and run away but… Jess chose that time to turn and his chocolate brown eyes met hers from behind her glasses.

For the first time in years, Dorothy found herself frozen in place. She couldn't look away and it seemed as if her heart had stopped beating. Then… that soft, languorous smile swept his lips once again, aimed only for her, and she felt a slight thump that turned into a fast paced drumbeat…

 He couldn't believe his eyes when he turned around and saw her… Looking just as perfect as ever with her long blonde hair down to her waist and tilted wide brimmed hat… her delectable lips ready to be nipped… How was he able to get through almost a month without seeing her? That pull within him spoke so much to him… Actually, the mere fact that he saw a lot of beautiful women and didn't even give them a second glance had already told him something… He's hung over for a girl who's not even his taste. 

She looked as if she was about to run and hide for cover… No way he's gonna let her do that! The mere fact that she came here after he gave her the option not to… 'No way I'm gonna let you go…' He gave the world sign language for uno momento to the clerk then walked purposely towards Dorothy.

Dorothy gulped and her hand tightened its grip on her handbag. 'What's he going to do?' She could only watch until he stopped in front of her with that smile of his.

"Hi."

Dorothy nodded, surprised that she was able to move her head! "Hello."

It was an awkward moment… Nobody spoke for who knew how long until Jess pursed his lips.

"Aw, hell with it." 

Before she knew what he was going to do, he had her in his arms. Her head was tilted upwards and her hat fell on the floor. Dorothy gasped in surprise and Jess used that chance to gain access into her lips. 

Electricity filtered through them and Dorothy felt the same passion, maybe even stronger than before, course through her while her hands went around his back.

"Dorothy… I missed you…" The words left him even when he hadn't wanted it to.

She smiled against his lips. "That's good to hear."

Jess pulled away and looked down at her face with a slight pout. "Aren't you going to say you missed me too?"

He stopped the kiss too soon, for her taste, and her hand went up to her glasses to pull them off while her other hand went to the nape of his neck. "Maybe." Before he could utter another word, she pulled him down for another searing kiss.

When they let go of each other, both out of breath, she found him grinning, and he found her eyes sparkling.

"I take that as an 'I missed you too, Jess.'"

Dorothy shrugged while enjoyable pleasure ran through her veins. Honestly speaking… he was correct to assume that she had missed him. "Take it as you will."

Jess drew her hands between them, entwining their hands together. "You know what I want to do right now?"

Images not fit for a child to see flitted through her mind and her throat went dry in anticipation. "Three guesses?"

Jess's head titled back and a laugh that made her heart sing left his lips. "No… not what you're thinking. Although…" He leaned forward and blew into her ears. "I want to do that afterwards…"

Confused, she could only raise her eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me?"

Jess's grin reached ear to ear. "I missed you… your witty conversation…" He kissed her cheek. " The place hadn't been the same without you… I just want you to talk to me…" Jess remembered all those sleepless nights when he wished so badly to hear her taunting voice. 'If I have a tape recorder, I'd record your voice and use that as my lullaby.'

That caught her unaware once again. Who was she trying to kid? He always catches her off guard! And the thought that he just wants to talk… to talk first… She could feel her surroundings whirl, and to keep herself from falling, she tried to hold on to disappearing indifference. "Careful, Jess… that sounds too romantic."

Jess hugged her. "I know. But what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic."

She could hear the beating of his heart under his cotton black shirt… She could smell that faint cologne of his… "Conversations require two people, just in case you've forgotten."

"I know… so, I talk and you talk… Let's talk about nothing. Or maybe something we like… anything! Lies if you want… Just talk to me…"

A soft laugh escaped her. Yes. She had missed hearing his voice too… "Lies? Jess, you're silly."

"I know… and you like me for it." He propped his chin on her hair and breathed in her perfume.

"Didn't it even occur to you that I might only like your body?" She liked just being hugged like this by him… just standing and being hugged as if he would never let go…

"Mmm… yeah… and everything about me."

This time, she couldn't stop the laughter that erupted from her lips. "Jess, you're full of yourself."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her hair. "I know… and you like me for it."

Dorothy rolled her eyes. They're back in square one of their conversation. He's right- talk about nothing. It was still very interesting. "Jess, I think the man behind the counter wants your attention."

She felt him go ramrod straight in her embrace and she let go just in time. He left muttering- "My room! My bags!" And Dorothy… Dorothy laughed behind fingers pressed against her lips. He kept on looking back at her, as if she would suddenly disappear into thin air. Then he was beside her again, reached for her hand, and gently tugged her alongside him.

"Let's go out for lunch."

She didn't mind walking beside him, holding his hand, or leaning gently against his side. "Sounds like a plan."

**…**

"I'm going to write." Jess watched as Dorothy packed her last piece of clothing.

"You don't have to." She zipped her bag.

Jess went behind her then turned her around. He made sure that she was looking at him before he spoke. "I'm going to write." 

"You don't have to." Dorothy answered once again… Making promises this early… It wasn't good…

His hands cupped her face… his thumbs traced her cheeks… her nose… her lips… "I want to." Hell! He doesn't even know why he's telling her these things!

He's just so plain stubborn sometimes… And his answer never left anything for her to say… She wanted him to write, sad to say but true… She wanted him to stay and make love to her once again… but he must go… 

She tilted her head up and Jess didn't need any more prompting. His lips touched hers once again… a soft, caressing touch that could make one want… that could make one breathless… 

A lulled knock seeped through their soft haze. "Mr. Matthew, your cab is here."

A sigh escaped him and Jess pressed his lips against her forehead while Dorothy clutched for him to stay. 

"I have to go..."

"I know…" Slowly, so much against her will, she let him go… then stepped away from him.

They looked at each other, while Jess grabbed his bag and tried a smile. "Hey… I'm gonna try for another three, next month… are you game?"

A small smile lifted her heavy lips. "Just write when and where…"

Jess nodded and finally turned away. It was just so hard to not look… 

Dorothy watched as he walked to the door… his hands closed onto the knob… opened the door…

"Jess…"

He stopped and half turned. "What is it?"

She didn't want to be reminded… she didn't want to remind him… but this was for her sake as much as his… "Remember… we're enemies…"

A sad smile touched his face before he turned away… He didn't mind that she reminded him… He was having one helluva time trying to make himself remember. "I know… Dorothy… I just wish…" What?

Dorothy looked at him expectantly.

Jess shook his head… A person could never have everything he wished for… Without saying anything, he walked out of the door and closed it.

Dorothy bit her lower lip before her knees buckled and made her fall on their bed… He was gone once again… who knows when they'll have another time… The past three days had been happy ones… She had no worries… no cares… and most importantly, she had felt so alive… and now, the sunlight seemed dimmer… the skies looked duller… 

Dorothy shook her head as these confusing thoughts dominated her mind.

'What is wrong with me?!'


	57. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 9

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Nine** By Heartfire 

~*~

"Jessie? Jessie are you here?"

He twirled the daffodil in his hands. He was so lost in his own world that he did not even hear that soft voice call his name.

"Jessie?"

'Could it be possible for a person to have feelings for another in such a short time of knowing that person?'

"Jessie?"

The pale petals reminded him so much of Dorothy's hair… Funny how nice he feels with the thought of having filled her mailbox with an almost everyday letter that was usually full of inconsequential stuff. He never expected a letter from her and he never received one… But that's all right… He was the one who promised… he was the one expected… Though through it all, every time he brought a pen to meet paper, he has this wonderful feeling and there was always something to write about.

"There you are!"

A shadow fell on him but his eyes didn't stray from the flower-  "What the- hey!" 

The daffodil was suddenly plucked from his hand and he stared up, eyes burning with anger, at the perpetrator. 

"Onie! Give it back!"

The smile on Onie's lips disappeared at the sound of Jessie's low voice while Jess's eyes widened after he realized what he did. He stared, waiting for his friend's reaction and then slowly, Onie's lips parted into a half smile. Jessie left out the breath he was holding. Onie will not tell, he was sure about it.

"Don't worry… I won't tell… I knew you were hiding something…" A sigh escaped those suddenly sad lips just as the child's body dropped down to sit beside him. "This whole place is a lie… Everyone here is a lie… everything is a lie… everything… but these plants…"

"So you knew…" He shouldn't have been surprised. Onie was very sensitive. A mischievous sparkle lit in Jessie's eyes as his eyebrow rose in a quirky manner. "Why didn't you tell your father?"

A grin floated on those lips then quickly disappeared. "I don't have to tell my father everything… do I?"

Jess couldn't stop his laugh. "And here I was, lecturing you about being your own person."

"Actually… your lectures helped a lot… and…" 

Jessie frowned as a dreamy look passed over that young face. 

"Some other things…"

"Hmmm…" He was familiar with that face… He could be quite sure that the expression had been on his just a while ago.

"Jessie… I don't have any siblings to tell these things to… You're the only friend I have in this place… and well… I was just wondering… Is it possible to feel so much for someone in such a short time?"

Jess couldn't stop himself as he stared… then he shook his head as laughter left him… He was just asking the exact question to himself a while ago… and he came up with- "I don't know…"

The smile on Onie's lips disappeared. "Oh…" Those eyes wandered up into the blue sky, framed by mirrors. "I thought that maybe you'd know… That maybe you had brothers and sisters you lied that you didn't have… that maybe…" A sad sigh left those lips once again. "You know that I've never really been _'outside'_… never been outside my father's eyes… I don't know what love is… I don't know if it's real… I'm just curious, that's all."

A frown appeared on Jess's face. Siblings… He has four older sisters… Four happily married sisters… What did he notice when they were in love? Laughter… That sparkle that shone… and lastly, their shrill shrieks when they fight. He looked at Onie and saw the difference from the person he knew almost more than three years ago, to the one who sat beside him… and he knew the answer. "You know… maybe it's possible…"

That rare smile lighted the quiet face once again, chocolate eyes lighted with life. "You think?"

Jess nodded. Their conversation had shed quite a light on his dark path… "Yeah… I think…" 

Onie reached a hand to him, the daffodil, an offering.

'Dorothy…' Jess took the flower and the sad realization coursed through him. He had thought that it was just physical attraction… but no… He was in love with the enemy…

'Damn! I'm in a rut now…'

**…**

Her gold limousine passed the snow-covered park full of life by children and teens alike… By couples who held hands and by families who were walking together… She grew up in a world that knew snow for what they were. Water. Crystals… not magic… not happiness… She grew up in a world where love was a placebo… where culture and indifference reigned… talk the talk… walk the walk… wear the right clothes… 

Her door opened and she stepped outside. The white flakes of snow fell on her furred hat and coat while some mingled with her hair and her eyes strayed once again to the direction of the park they had passed by…

Alone, she walked to her unlighted house and for a moment, she looked down at her brown coat and thought of brown eyes… Involuntarily, her hands went to her neck and wrapped her coat tighter around her. Warmth went through her and a wistful smile appeared on her face as she thought of an embrace.

Her doors opened the minute she stepped in front of her house… 

"Good evenin', Ma'am."

"Melanie." Dorothy took her shoes off and almost smiled at the pressure taken away by those constraining shoes. "Was there any mail today?"

Melanie nodded as she took off Dorothy's fur coat and started rubbing off the snow. "Yes ma'am. It's on the letter bowl, and you have a delivery in the sitting room…"

She tried her best not to show her excitement to her servant… Actually, tried her best to tell herself not to be excited by a single papered letter. But when she turned around that corner that obstructed Melanie's view of her, she quickly went through the stack of mail, dropped them one by one on the floor and nearly cried with glee when she found that simple white envelope, addressed to her in that familiar handwriting.

She had given half the money Blake wanted her to donate and told him that she was going to think about giving him the other half- and more, if he but give her time… 

Her excited hands opened the envelope as she walked to that ceiling high window that showed the soft, flowing snowflakes outside. How funny that only a few moments ago, she had told herself that she would be more mature and not… not be like this…

            Dorothy,

                        You wouldn't believe this… but Onie told me that since I haven't been out of this place in four years - not counting the three days I spent with you- I'm entitled to ten days of vacation. There's a cottage in Hafford, Old France. I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with me… I hope the flowers I sent along to persuade you made it.

-Jess

'Flowers?' She looked around the sitting room. She had forgotten that there was a delivery for… her…  

Dorothy's breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell upon the snow-white roses and daffodils beautifully arranged in a wooden basket and enveloped in shimmering organza.

Her feet slowly brought her to her gift, placed upon her grand piano. Her hands unhurriedly pulled at the yellow ribbon that held the organza in place and when the ribbon was finally snatched away, the lace fell like a cloud on the polished wood. A small white envelope was in the middle, exactly where her other messages-in-flower-arrangements had been. 

Nobody had to tell her what was written in the message within those folds. There was no question in her mind about what she would like to do… And as she held onto the unopened envelope, she walked to her phone. She opened the envelope and saw the dates… She dialed a number.

"Lerraine… cancel all my appointments for…"

**…**

"Stop here. I want to walk the rest of the way. Bring my bags to the front porch." She looked up at the dark, clear sky and saw the gentle white smoke, being blown by the wind. The mere fact that there was smoke coming out of the chimney had already told her that he was there.

"Yes ma'am."

The man did as he was told, then left after he received more money than he had expected. Money was the only truth in this world. 

She sighed and a cloud escaped her lips. 'I'm here…' Her grip on the bag tightened. Butterflies appeared in her stomach once again, but this time, their fluttering was that of expectation instead of anxiety… 

The cottage was well maintained… thick logs almost like that of a frontier cabin… warm yellow light spilled onto the snow outside the window and soft, upbeat music seeped to her ears.

Unconsciously, a hand went up to push back a stray lock of hair and to straighten her coat and hat… Then, after a minute of hesitation, her hand reached out for the door and knocked.

She heard a jarring noise of metal hitting something. Of small things falling down-

"Ow! Dammit! Shit!"

BLAG!

Dorothy winced as she heard more things fall down onto the floor. Suddenly, the door opened and the warm yellow light spilled over her. Dorothy's eyes widened… a hand went up to her lips… and then… her body started to shake and… uncontrolled laughter left her lips.

"Yeah… yeah… laugh… Nearly broke my neck back there, you know." Jess shook his leg to try to shake off the lights that were wrapped around it.

"What were you doing?" She thought that she had finally gotten a hold of herself but the moment she glanced at him again and saw the pine leaves that were sticking out of his hair, twigs on his clothes, Christmas lights wrapped around one leg, a potholder in his hand, and hooks hanging on the sleeves of his other arm… well…

Jess's pout disappeared into a smile while he watched Dorothy laugh. She's so beautiful when she does that and… she seemed so carefree every time… "I was trying to put up the Christmas decors."

"Christmas is a month away." Dorothy gasped in between laughter. How come laughter comes so easily whenever he's around?

"Yeah, exactly… no time." He stepped closer to her and her perfume hit him once again. Her hair was hidden under that fur hat, and her wonderful body under that thick coat. "Dorothy! It's nearly been five minutes!"

"Yes? And?" Her arms were wrapped around her waist and her stomach was aching. She hadn't laughed this hard since… She can't even remember! She tried to control her laughter and gave him a saucy look instead. "Your point?"

The tilt on his lips and the darkening in his eyes was her answer before she was suddenly encompassed in his embrace and kissed like there was no tomorrow. Small Christmas lights broke under their feet as they moved inside the house and then-

"Whoa!"

"Oh!"

She was suddenly pulled forward when Jessie stepped on a small ball decoration that made him lose his balance. Nobody could have stopped the fall and his back hit the floor while Dorothy fell on top of him.

His breath was snuffed out of his lungs. Dorothy tried to gather her wits around her. She looked up and saw his painful wince with eyes closed and nose scrunched up.

"Jess…? Jess? Are you alright?" Concern like she never had felt before overcame her and her hands went over his face and shoulders then back again. "Jess?"

"I'd been better…" He opened his eyes and saw how her arctic eyes showed a caring light. "But don't stop whatever it is you're doing."

Dorothy rolled her eyes then slapped his chest in frustration. "You… Don't you dare scare me like that again!"

"Hmmm. Maybe." He brought a hand around her waist and another to cup the back of her head then he turned and felt wonderful when he heard her startled gasp. She was under him now and it was a surprise that her hat hadn't fallen off… Well, he'd be given the pleasure of taking it off.

Her light gold hair spilled over his hands like a waterfall and he brushed away some stray strands from her face.

She didn't dare breathe… He was touching her so gently… so carefully… there was something about him that's so different…

"So… how have you been?" He brought a strand of hair over to one side and another from the opposite side to the other.

"So-so… What are you doing?" Dorothy frowned. He was playing with her hair.

He pushed himself back, only a couple of inches away and nodded. "I want to see you ruffled… you're too perfect sometimes."

Anger washed that warm feeling she had felt just a few moments ago and fire appeared in her eyes. "You-"

Whatever she was about to say was muffled when he pressed his lips to hers. "Now… Let's make that… a natural… ruffling…"

She tried so hard to keep her anger but it disappeared the moment his hands cupped one of her full, aching breasts and his lips soon followed.  She had missed him… Missed his touch… his smell…

"Jess… the door is still… open…" The draft from outside ran over her suddenly naked body. It was a nice inconsistency, heat from his body and then a light cold breeze from the outside, but right now, she would just rather have his body. His heat. Though she couldn't be quite sure if the reason why she shivered was the cold air, or Jess…

"Oh… sorry…" He moved only a bit. Excruciating pleasure gathered in her body as he slid down her length, lips never straying away from her skin and breath whispering… the next thing she heard was the door, banging shut then he was back on top of her...

"Lazybones." Dorothy whispered as she arched to his kisses and touch.

"I know… and you like me for it…"

**…**

"What are these things?" Dorothy frowned at a box of seemingly shredded shiny silver paper. Jess walked from the kitchen to the living room… That was the third question in the span of… a couple of minutes! It made him wonder…

"Dorothy, have you ever decorated a tree before?"

She lifted her chin up even when she felt as if she had done something embarrassing. "No, I haven't."

Though they'd only spent a countable days together, he knew that look well… She was ready for battle… but he wasn't… He didn't want to fight her… and the mere fact that she had been deprived of tree decorating… He took the box from her hands then gently pulled her up from her position on the floor. "Well… I'm just going to have to teach you then." He wrapped an arm around her waist then kissed her forehead. "Come on into the kitchen and lets eat lunch…"

"It wasn't my fault, you know…" Why was she even explaining? Why couldn't she stop talking? "I'd just wake up one day and find a perfect tree in the middle of our hall…"

"Well… we've got… eight and a half days to make an imperfect tree look pleasant so, what's the rush…" He guided her to the table and made her sit then with flourish, brought a steaming pot of soup to the table.

Dorothy's stomach growled in anticipation as she caught a whiff of that wonderful aroma. "I didn't know you could cook." 

"You never asked… besides, I like surprising you." He dropped a kiss on her hair then he poured some soup into her bowl.

"I noticed… not that I mind." Her lips tilted a bit… She really didn't mind. The ray of sunlight that spilled from the window in front of her made her look outside and she saw how the white snow look so thick against the glass.

Jess followed her gaze and smiled. "Nice, huh?"

"Yes… Snow is quite… lovely…" She tried to remind herself that they were just water crystals… but they seem different up here in the mountains.

Jess looked back at her and saw that ethereal beauty… not the physical but… the inside… The one that comes out whenever they were alone… He couldn't help himself when he reached out and touched her hand. These eight days would be the only time when he could make her feel what he feels… Who knew when he could ask for a time off to see her next? "You're lovely…"

She turned her head and saw how serious his eyes were and she suddenly felt heat creep to her cheeks… She suddenly couldn't meet his eyes… She heard those words before, but coming from him… it was different.

Jess experienced a complete… total meltdown as he watched that blush form on her white cheeks… His throat became parched and he had to swallow a couple of times before he could speak. "Dorothy… ever made love in the snow?"

That made her look at him with wide eyes. "No!" That slow… mischievous grin gradually came to his lips and she saw what he was planning through his chocolate brown eyes… It excited her… Her whole body became flushed with anticipation.

"Neither have I."

**…**

"Heh! We did a damn good job with that tree, huh?" Jess dropped the pail with crushed ice and wine to one side then gently placed the tray with a plate of lasagna.

Dorothy's eyes didn't leave the tree as she nodded. "Yes… we did…" It had felt so good when they finally stood back, holding hands, and Jess turned on the lights. The tree with broken twigs glowed with pride…

"Hey… food… time to eat, glutton." He finally realized what a large stomach Ms. Catalonia has… but he didn't care. He liked cooking for her and having his culinary skills be appreciated. Having four sisters did have its perks!

Dorothy walked towards Jessie and sat beside him on the sheepskin rug in front of the warm fireplace. "You know how to catch my attention, huh?"

"I hope so." Jess leaned down and gave a kiss on her neck, trying not to think of tomorrow-

"What time do you have to leave tomorrow?"

Jess's hands went limp on his side and a sigh escaped him before he moved away from her. The thing he had not wanted to think of was just verbalized by his special someone… "Eight in the morning… My flight is at ten…"

She nodded and tried not to let the sadness she could feel gnawing inside engulf her. "I guess that means I have to leave too…"

Jess shook his head and then placed his arm around her shoulders. "No… you can stay in here as long as you want. That is… if you want."

Dorothy frowned. "I… I thought…" She turned to face him. "This cottage wasn't rented?"

Jess gave a lopsided smile. "Er… no… Uhm… This cabin is…" He coughed out the last word. "Mine…"

"Yours…?" Her piercing eyes pinned him. She couldn't believe that he had let her inside something as personal as his… well… this!

Jess nodded, a bit embarrassed. "Yes… mine. And you're welcome to stay for as long as you want."

She still couldn't believe it! He didn't even know where she lives! His letters and deliveries were all forwarded from her office to her home. 'Why?' Why did he so welcomingly let her enter his… space?

"Hey… You're too quiet… how about if we eat, huh?"

Without anything else to say, she nodded.

He pulled her closer to his side, their backs against the sofa, and he baby fed her once again. It was a silent dinner… a comforting silence that had an edge with the knowledge that this was their last night. She poured wine into one glass and offered it to him.

"Jess… If you knew that you weren't going to spend Christmas here… why did you bother with the decorations?" When he didn't answer, she looked up and found him blushing, staring at the orange fire.

"I… uh… wanted to… uhm…" Jess cleared his throat. 

Dorothy reached out and touched his hand. "You don't have to answer."

He smiled and shrugged. "No harm in answering that question…" He breathed in deeply. How would he phrase his answer? "I knew that Blake wouldn't let me out on Christmas… and I kind of… wanted to spend it with you…so…" He motioned to the whole place, decorated for the holidays.

She heard something snap and crackle… something break… something shatter…

Jess reached behind him and then took out a hand sized golden box with a single yellow ribbon as adornment. He's been itching to give that box to her since the day she arrived. "Here… this is for you."

She didn't know why her hands were shaking as she reached for the box… She didn't know why her eyes started to become unfocused… Dorothy glanced from the box then to Jess. "Jess… Have you forgotten? We're enemies…"

A finger traced the frame of her face… pushed back a lock of hair then firm lips pressed themselves onto her forehead. "No… I haven't forgotten… Just open it and… I hope you'll like it."

"I… I don't have anything for you…" She gently pulled away from his embrace and then stared at the box once again… It had been far too long since she had received a present from someone… she considered… special.

"Having you here is my Christmas present, Dorothy… Having you in my embrace…" He guided her body so her back would lean on his chest instead of the sofa. "And just here is enough…"

She was grateful he wasn't looking at her now because… now she realized what had shattered… Some had said that her heart was engulfed in ice… well… that ice wall had just been broken to a million pieces… Her vision blurred as… a tear, from the melted ice, fell down from her eyes… and then another…

"Aren't you going to open it?" Jess whispered in her ear.

Dorothy jerked a nod. "Yes… of course…" Her voice sounded hoarse as she tried to stop her tears. Tears… why now? Nobody had died… Or maybe… someone did…? 

He had felt her tears fall on his arms and knew that she was crying… It only made him embrace her tighter… She was the kind of woman who never cries so easily… and having her cry right now… it tore at his heart and made it sing at the same time. "I'll close my eyes and you can tell me when." He knew she wouldn't want him to see her tears.

Silent thanks escaped her lips and she quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Once sure that her face was dry, she pulled the ribbon around the box and slowly opened them. Her eyes widened.

The gasp of surprise made Jess smile and he opened his eyes without her prompt. "Do you like it?"

"I… Jess… it's… beautiful!" She could only stare at the accessories set within the folds of white silk.

"No… you're beautiful…" He pressed his lips against her golden hair.

Simple and elegant… A gold necklace with a small daffodil… daffodil earrings and bracelet full of small daffodils that hung like charms… they weren't small and flat, rather, each was made with careful skill. The only thing missing was the ring… She could tell that these were specially ordered… Tears sprung in her eyes once again even when all she wanted to do was to smile.

"I… thank you…" She looked up and forced herself to stop crying… Everything was just different with him… He's different from anybody she knew… and yet there's no future for them… They were both spies. Enemies.

"Here… let me put that on you…" Jess gently took the necklace from the box in her hands and Dorothy leaned forward. Her hair created a wall around her face and she used that time to wipe away that fresh batch of tears. The cold feel of gold didn't last, but the heavy weight of the daffodil at the base of her throat did… 

"I should give you something… I… I want to give you something." Panic started to run through her… She never receive presents without reason… without the giver expecting something to be given back…

Her nervous hands were stilled by Jess's stable ones and he made her lean against his chest once again. "If you really want to give me something… Just let me hold you until tomorrow and that'll be enough…" He was lying… It wasn't enough, but… he will bid his time…

Her panic subsided and the calm that seemed to be radiating from him engulfed her… How could an enemy be so giving? How could she let him into her heart? How? And yet, through it all, she feels protected and secure in his embrace… 

She closed her eyes as realization cleared her muddled thoughts…  Then, because she had wanted to say it but didn't know how… because she had wanted him to feel what she had grasped… she leaned to her side, tilted her head to his face, and guided his head down with her hand then kissed him softly. 

'I love you… Jess…' She said it with her kiss… with her touch… A part of her moaned for her weakness yet a bigger part of her rejoiced with this emotion… and tonight, she listened to that part she had ignored so much in the past…


	58. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 10

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Four: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Ten** By Heartfire 

~*~

"Dorothy, sweetheart…" Jess bit his lower lip as the endearment left his mouth. He waited for any reaction from her and prayed to God that she didn't hear… When she didn't answer, he breathed a sigh of relief and frustration then continued. "I… I can't seem to find my scarf anywhere… have you seen it?"

From inside the kitchen, Dorothy clutched at her chest… _Sweetheart_… That small call of sweet nothing had melted through her… even after she had tried so hard to replace the barriers around her and readied for his leave… "No… I didn't. Isn't it there?" 

She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her nerves as she walked into the bedroom and found him rummaging through his drawers. The room looked ransacked, but it only gave a lived in feeling…

"I can't… It's not anywhere!" Jess finally gave up and closed the drawer with a sigh. "Well… guess I'll have to make do with my collar." He glanced at Dorothy as he jokingly pulled his collar up then grinned at her wickedly. "Do I look like Count Dracula?"

With his black trench coat, brown sweater and black pants? Even with that collar up… he didn't look menacing at all- or maybe she was biased. "No… you don't. You don't have his blood thirsty look."

Jess pouted. "Oh darn… ah well…" He looked outside and shrugged. "Guess I'll have to go through the blizzard without any protection for my neck."

That comment made her glance at the window and she saw the soft fall of snowflakes, almost like leaves riding a gentle breeze. But what if… "Jess… are you sure there wouldn't be any blizzard? I mean… we haven't been in touch with the news and…"

Jess shook his head, stopping her words. "I've lived here for a pretty decent time… It's as clear as a Sunday morning."

"Whatever that means." Dorothy answered before she closed the opened drawer nearest to her. The wild thumping of her heartbeat echoed in her ears while she walked around the bedroom as if trying to look for his scarf. "You're right. It's not here."

"I told you…" Jess shrugged. "Forget it. It's alright."

"No…" She chewed on her lower lip in concentration then her eyes sparkled. "I have an idea…" Dorothy walked out of the bedroom and she could hear Jess's footsteps right behind. She saw his bag ready and waiting by the door and tried not to look at it. 

He watched as she stopped in front of the coat rack and reached up.

She grabbed her scarf and turned. "Here… you can use mine."

Jess looked at the light, yellow long scarf… Does she even know what she's doing? Giving him something of hers? 

She walked in front of him and focused her eyes on his chest. "Here… I'll wrap it around you…" Gently. Memorably. Slowly… she made sure it was secure.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her hair while his hands went around her waist. He could smell the perfume from the scarf… clouding his senses… "Thank you."

"You're welcome…" She forced her hands to bring his coat back in place… to just pat the lapels but she found her hands going around his neck and holding him just as tightly as he was holding her.

The jarring horn from outside broke the silence around them… Reality knocked at their door…

"Your cab is here." She didn't want to let him go.

"I know…" If he could just freeze time… he would… Knowing that if he didn't let go of her now, he probably wouldn't be able to… ever. He dropped his hands and stepped back. Dorothy let her hands fall down.

"I'll miss you." He stared at her and tried to memorize her… When did she put on the things he gave her? He couldn't remember a single moment when he had let her escape his embrace through out the night, and he could quite remember that she took them off while they took a shower…

Dorothy nodded, still unable to look at him… Then, she felt his hand under her chin and she looked up… Her eyes met his and it was moments like these… moments such as these that created fairytales… She closed her eyes, as did he… Their lips met in one of her most cherished memories… A deep, caressing kiss that left them a memory and more… Then he was gone. She felt the wind blow her hair back and knew he had opened the door… then heard his shoes leave the patio…

She opened her eyes, watched him drop his bag in the trunk then walk to the cab door…  "Jess!" His name was ripped from her throat… She didn't want to call him back… but with him… not for the first time had her control failed her.

Jess looked up and stared at the woman in his robe and socked feet… If he could just have a picture of that… God! What was he doing?! She was calling him and he was just standing there… His feet moved and he was suddenly in front of her once again.

"I… You…" Dorothy breathed in deeply. She could do this… "I never ask for favors…"

He could tell that this was difficult for her but he'll wait… He's got patience… although, he would knock the man in the taxi if he beeps his damn horn again. 

"Just… I want you to call… here…" She looked away, embarrassed with the flood of emotion that was suffocating her and bit her tongue so she wouldn't be able to say what she was thinking- 'So I can be sure you're alright…'

"I promise." Jess whispered. His heart was singing with joy yet at the same time weeping… He reached for her hands and Dorothy looked back at him. He brought them to his lips and kissed them and that tender act nearly made her bawl. She had been a damn waterfall since last night… years and years of not crying and now…

"You're going to stay for a couple more days, right?"

Dorothy nodded. "At most…"

"Then I'll call."

She nodded once again. His hands left hers and she watched him as he walked to his cab once again… As he climbed in and closed the door…

He was forcing himself not to look at her… It was better not to… Why did she have to be an enemy? Why did she have to be an individual who finances government usurpers?! Why was it that even with that knowledge… with the knowledge of her background… of her actions during that first bloody war… he felt as if she wasn't truly an enemy?

'You're letting your emotions cloud your reason, Jess Daniel Callum...' His hands went up to his temples to rub them. 

"Girl trouble, eh?" The friendly voice made Jess look up.

Jess grunted. If only it was just that. "You don't know the half of it…"

**…**

She had stayed on the patio, unfeeling of the cold weather, until she couldn't see the cab anymore… Funny that she did that… She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had done such a thing… When she was little and it was time for her grandfather to leave, she would just kiss him on the cheek and go back to whatever it was she was doing…

Her hand went up to the base of her neck and her fingers found the daffodil that hung by that thin line of chained gold…

"Take care…"

She closed the door behind her and slowly walked to the bedroom… She stopped as she reached the foot of the bed… leaned and pulled the upper cushion then reached inside and pulled out- a long, white scarf.

The cushion dropped back down once again but her attention was focused on the scarf as she brought it to her nose and smelled him… His mint cologne… 

She had played an underhanded trick on him… lied to him… deceived him… but then again… one could never tell who was telling the truth from the lie… Besides… she had wanted to keep something of him, other than what he had given her, just to remind her that this was all real… that it was not a dream… And at the same time, she had wanted to give him something of her… to remind him of her…

Dorothy sat at the base of the bed. The scarf was on her lap and she just stared at it… She couldn't quite believe that after all she knew… after she had told herself over and over again not to… she still let herself feel this emotion… she still wasn't able to stop herself… And yet… she wouldn't trade what she was feeling right now for anything.

She pushed herself to the middle of the bed and laid on it, his scarf in her embrace… She didn't have any plans, except to wait for his call… and then she would leave knowing that he's safe… knowing that Blake won't harm him… for the moment.

**…**

For lack of anything else to do, Dorothy turned on the television before she walked to the kitchen. He didn't call yesterday. Then again, she hadn't expected him to.

A craving for hot cocoa made her walk to the kitchen and heat some water then she checked the fridge for a possible lunch or dinner… He was thoughtful enough to leave her food in microwaveable containers… Especially since she didn't know how to cook. He was a wonderful chef, but a messy one. 

With her drink in hand, she walked back to the bedroom, placed her chocolate on top of the cabinet then walked to the mirrored dresser and stared at his gifts while she combed her hair, one ear deaf to the news, the other only half listening until she heard a name- 

Arche.

"What?!" Dorothy turned and looked for the controls. Not able to find it, she ran to the television and tuned up the volume. A reporter with hoards of people in the background and airplanes flying behind the thick glass came to view.

_"… World Alliance has been meeting everyday to consider plans for Arche, and to decide former dictator James Morley's sentence while people from around the world gather in airports to await the first flights to Arche in over fifty years just to visit relatives that were torn from their grasp at the sudden government change."_

Dorothy couldn't believe her ears… "What happened?" She asked herself, though her quick mind had already started putting two and two together… Former- James had been taken out of office… Arche was now an open country… Jess's motherland… 

Her blood ran cold.

'Blake…' What would he do to Jess without Morley's power of security?! Blake hated Morley's power over his project. There could- 'No…'

She nearly ran to the phone but Relena's picture from her retirement conference made her stop.

_"There still no word about former peace delegate Relena Dorlian's condition since she had courageously stopped the assassination attempt on President Wilford's life. People all over the world have not stopped their prayers for her safety… Millions have gathered in Sanc Kingdom with flowers in their hands… Hoping for her well being."_

Dorothy slowly shook her head in disbelief…  "No… not Relena…" One cannot say that they were the best of friends… but she had always admired her… And Relena had always welcomed her with open arms in those rare occasions when they met…

Half of her wanted to go right that minute and rush to Relena's side… Yet the other half was telling her to stay and wait for Jess's call… She was torn… She must decide… 

Her hands went to her temples and she applied pressure to them. "What am I going to do?" Her eyes fell on the phone and she slowed her panicked breathing… Jess was her enemy and Relena was not… She had said two days… and it will be two days… 

She walked to the phone and dialed a number memorized by heart… Une's recorded voice filtered through the speaker and she dropped the phone in disgust. She hates talking to machines… For a moment, she stared at her hands as she tried to think, then she picked up the phone once again…

By the time she let go, a flight had been reserved under her name… She would go to Relena first… see how she's doing… then she would go straight to Blake and make sure that Jess will not be harmed…

Dorothy stood up and started pacing. She could be quite sure that Relena was in the Main base… If so, then her decision to buy the house she's living in right now was a good one- it was near the base… 

Her eyes fell on Jess's scarf and she felt that sharp intake of air. "Blake… if you do anything to hurt him…" she couldn't finish… Oh, she will make sure that Blake will be tortured… But right now… she could only wait for that one phone call… wait for…

**…**

Wait for nothing… She looked at the phone through the slightly ajar door and closed her eyes. He hadn't called… It wasn't like him… He had never broken a promise… He had never told her something that he was planning to do and not do it…

She turned away and for a moment, she thought she heard a soft ring… Dorothy turned and stared at the phone, barely breathing.

The ringing came again.

Her bags dropped onto the floor as she rushed to the bedroom and grabbed the phone. "Jess?"

No answer… Dorothy frowned.

"N-no ma'am…"

Her frown deepened. "Who's this?"

"This is Quentin, ma'am… Jessie's assistant…"

She could feel that fear in the man's stuttering voice and her hand gripped the phone. "Where's… Jessie?"

"He told me to tell you that he got here safely, ma'am… Mr. Blake- he's got- oh no! I can't talk right now!"

The connection died and left Dorothy staring at the phone while she slowly brought the receiver down… 

His mint scent filtered through her nose and she closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his scarf… Something was happening back at the Center… Blake had done something to Jess but Jess didn't want to worry her…

Her hand crumpled a handful of blanket then she opened her eyes. A sense of purpose burned in those clear blue eyes. "Tackle everything one at a time…" The lethal whisper left her lips before she stood up then she walked back to her bags, picked it up and walked out the door. That was the only advice she had followed from her grandfather… 

She didn't look back until she had closed the door to the cab… Then she glanced at the cabin and saw how lifeless the it was… no smoke came out of the chimney… no warm yellow light spilled from the windows… no music…

"Where to ma'am?"

Death…

The tomblike premonition brought a chill down her spine and nearly made her not answer the question. "To the airport."

One at a time.

**…**

She flashed her I.D. to the man who stopped her and didn't bat an eyelash when he let her pass. She was here for a purpose and she would not let anyone stop her. Without giving a second glance at the information desk in the usual corner, she walked to the office at the farther side of the hall.

The woman looked up. Her eyes serious as her face and Dorothy didn't give her a chance to greet her as she slammed her I.D. on the table.

"Where's Relena Dorlian?"

The woman looked at the I.D. then at Dorothy and an apologetic look passed over her face. "I'm sorry, Ms. Catalonia… That information is confidential."

Dorothy frowned… They were going to hoard this information from her?! "Where's Une?"

"Ms. Une is still in Arche." 

That answers why she had been getting her answering machine. Dorothy nearly stamped her foot. "Who is left in charge?"

"Commander Chang, ma'am."

'Wufei?!' Her eyes widened for a brief moment then she took her I.D. and mentally shook her head. "Where is Commander Chang?"

"Commander Chang will be able to give you permission to see Ms. Dorlian. You have clearance to see him… He is located at Basement Floor One, Room 01."

Dorothy nodded and left the office. Wufei wouldn't be glad to see her… He wasn't exactly friendly to her before… Then again… isn't Wufei, Relena's bodyguard? If he's in charge… Who had been taking care of Relena?

The elevator opened and unconsciously, her hand went up to the scarf around her neck. Chang… He doesn't like her… she doesn't like him… but for Relena's sake…

She stopped in front of Room 01 and after a moment of hesitation, she pressed her ID to the pad. It lit and the door swished open. 

A massive room wasn't what she was expecting… nor did she expect the furor of activity that she could see happening in front of her very eyes.

"Why did he have to disappear on us like that? Trowa…" 

The soft, hopeless voice reached her ears… She knew that voice…

'Quatre.' She turned and saw Quatre with his face buried in his hands and a red haired girl seemingly trying to give comfort.  She had never heard him sound like this… He was always the hopeful one… always the one who urged people to go on… yet now… She couldn't stand hearing him like this… seeing him like this… 

She walked to Quatre, her purpose deterred. "I think I might know where Trowa Barton is… That is… if you need to find him."

Quatre's head snapped up, along with everyone else's, and they stared at her as if she had grown a new head.

"Dorothy?!"


	59. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 11

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter  Eleven** By Heartfire 

~*~

_[To all reviewers, anonymous and email-known alike, THANKS so much for the continuous interest in this story! With all my gratitude, here's the next chapter and trying hard for the next to put up before my spring break is over. Again, thanks!]_

The shock in Quatre's voice was understandable. After all, she hadn't exactly announced that she was coming… not to mention that she had eluded him as much as possible in the past.

"Hello, Quatre." Dorothy greeted with a quick nod. 

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Ah… Wufei and his bark… How Relena was able to stand him for such a long time… still a mystery to her. "I was going to look for you and demand that you let me see Relena." She didn't turn to look at him… The haggard look in Quatre's eyes had kept her attention.

Quatre couldn't stop staring at Dorothy… The mere fact that she had spoken as if Trowa was still alive… That she had talked as if she had answers…

"How did you get in here?!"

Dorothy's patience broke and she turned to face Wufei, walked to him with her eyes meeting the challenge in his eyes, then before Wufei knew what she was doing, she had her ID slapped on his chest. "I got in using this. Now shut up for a minute and let me talk to Quatre."

Wufei's hands went to her ID and he stared at it in shock. 'She couldn't be…'

"I am one of you whether you like it or not…" Dorothy answered the unspoken question in his eyes.

"Dorothy…" 

Quatre's weak voice made her turn and look at him again. ""What is it, Quatre?"

He couldn't understand why she was here… he couldn't understand why Wufei was staring at what she had slapped in his hands… He couldn't understand anything but Yvan and that- "Trowa's dead…"

Disbelief coursed through her… "I… I don't think I understand…" The news was a blow to her… How could he have… died?

Quatre looked away and the next voice she heard belonged to Wufei.

"Some bodies were found near the Deccan plateau where an explosion happened. One of the bodies was tested and found to be Trowa Barton's."

She could feel that he was having a hard time using an indifferent a manner. She could hear the sadness in his voice… "And the other…?"

"All we know is that she was a woman… There were no records or files to know who she was…" Wufei answered snappily. He feels bad for Quatre and Catherine… he truly does… but this was a military operation now and he shouldn't let his emotions cloud his judgments.

Dorothy's hand touched Jess's scarf once again and a picture of a blonde woman appeared in her mind. "Try…" She swallowed… She couldn't understand why she was so affected… These people were never her friends… She never had friends… "Try Midii Une…"

"What?" Wufei frowned at the name.

Quatre looked at Dorothy curiously.

"Midii Une… I saw them together… at the center… You won't see any records of her though. I've already checked."

"What are you talking about?" Quatre asked softly. He could tell that something's bugging her… that she's worried about something.

"I…" This was her job now… She was an independent Preventer but a Preventer nonetheless… She must do her duty, as she perceived it right… She turned and faced Wufei… the one in charge. Though she felt that it was a little premature to tell them- or maybe it was her feelings for Jess- she still asked. "Wufei, have you heard of the organization Righteous Justice?"

"RJ…" Quatre whispered as he remembered the logo he saw on his computer screen.

Wufei stared at Dorothy as images of the pins on the man who had shot Relena came to mind…  He tossed her the I.D. once again and she caught it effortlessly. "Where did you hear about… RJ?"

"I am your contact person for any organization that wish to overthrow the government you have. I only report to Une and she tells your people… Once I am assured of an organization's power and mission, I give the command."

"I didn't know…" Quatre whispered while the message appeared in Wufei's eyes.

"Nobody was supposed to know…" She tried to keep her strong face…

"We have been trying to find out about this organization for the past few months and you already had a damn insider in the blasted base?!" A woman with a riot of curly blonde hair cried out in frustration from one side.

"Shut up! I didn't know!" Wufei yelled back. He hates it when he doesn't know everything… The Catalonia name had always been associated with every single assholes who wished to rule the world and now… now she tells them… this?!

"You people are worse than the IA!!! At least we know where our men are!"

'Obviously not a Preventer…' The thought flitted in her mind before she gave the woman a quelling glare. "Did you not hear what I said? Nobody was supposed to know. We do more dirty work than you IA's do so shut up and just listen… Besides…" She crossed her hands over her chest and didn't look away from flashing green eyes. "You wouldn't have found it even if you had the best radio, satellite, or tracker around…"

"What do you mean?" Wufei walked to Dorothy menacingly but Quatre was suddenly between them. He had known that Wufei had been under a lot of stress… Everyone was…

"Wufei… stop it… Dorothy… Please go on."

Dorothy nodded to Quatre. "RJ was able to perfect a machine that would render them radar, optical, heat, and satellite invisibility."

"But that isn't possible…" Quatre tried to imagine such a machine.

"It is… I was not able to copy their data… and I never gave Ms. Une any information about RJ because I still haven't found their mission-"

"Their mission is the same as the others! They were the ones who nearly killed Relena! Dammit!"

Wufei's sudden revelation stopped her. What did he mean? "Chang…" No matter how curious she was, she must keep her control. "Information for information… What happened to Relena? None of the news teams have any records of the convention where she was shot…"

"Where have you been?" Mariemaia's question was full of disbelief… Everyone on the whole planet and on every colony knew what was happening… Everyone, except for the two people she had been searching for, Duo and Hilde… Now, Dorothy was telling them that she also didn't know?

"I… None of your business…" Dorothy's hand clutched the scarf. "Now… who will tell me where Relena is and what has been happening?"

Quatre's hand went up to stop Wufei and then he walked to Dorothy. "Ten days ago, a warehouse exploded on the Deccan plateau. Trowa and… Midii's body was found… The very next day, Relena stepped into the line of fire. Heero shot the assassin and the team later figured that he came from… RJ. The pins on his lapels suggested it… Yet according to records, this man had been dead for three years. Three days ago, Arche was liberated. Is that what you wished to know, Dorothy?"

She suddenly couldn't breathe… Everything had happened during the happiest days of her life…? "Where's Relena? How is she? I want to see her."

"Relena's on the top floor. I can take you to her later on but… she has yet to gain consciousness…" Quatre answered her questions with his kind voice.

"Your turn, goldilocks." The woman with green eyes demanded in such an irritable voice.

Dorothy turned to the blonde and gave her a once over… 'Me? Goldilocks?' She stared at the thick, curly mane of blonde hair on the girl. 'She fits the bill more so than I!'

Quatre turned around and faced the owner of the voice. "Please, Ping… I know that you're stressed… Everyone is… but please…" He didn't have to finish his sentence to make her know what he wanted her to do and Ping sighed before she turned away and nodded.

"Sorry." Yet the tone of her voice didn't suggest a hint of apology.

She had thought, when she entered this room, that the furor was that only of activity… but she had miscalculated the tension she had felt. "Righteous Justice has about two thousand five hundred men, trained to endure wildlife and… brainwashed. They were picked on the streets… beggars or just strays alike. Without self-identity, they are the perfect soldiers, only awaiting command… They can mingle with the crowds and no one would know the difference… Their Base is located ten miles, south east from the Deccan Plateau. They have armaments and various war vehicles such as hovercrafts, tanks, and helicopters of the highest quality provided by James Morley. Their leader is Dr. Brandon Blake."

Quick and concise, she finished her report. If there were any more doubts that she does not report to Une, they were now eliminated. 

"What are we waiting for?" A man from one of the control panels asked.

"I can't believe we were so close…" A woman near Dorothy whispered.

Dorothy glanced at Wufei and she could tell, even before he opened his lips, what he was going to do. 

"Sir! I'm picking a transmission!" Mariemaia cried out while her hands flew over the control panel, garnering everyone's attention.

_"Wufei, this is Heero Yuy."_

"Track him!" Wufei ordered as he ran to Mariemaia. The large screen in the middle of the farthest wall flickered to light and satellite views appeared here and there like flashes of a camera.

"Heero! Heero, where the hell are you?"

_"Wufei… I found them."_

"What are you talking about?"

Dorothy's blood ran cold as she stared at the screen and let Wufei's and Heero's conversation flow over her.

_"Those bastards."_

"Heero. Stop it right now. Relena's all right. Come back here." Dammit! He doesn't want to lose another friend… 

_"You're lying… She hasn't regained consciousness yet. She's still in a coma…"_

Wufei looked back at Quatre who stared at him in confusion. How was Heero able to know? He walked toward Wufei and spoke clearly. "Heero, this is Quatre. Please listen… You can't do this alone."

_"You're wrong Quatre… I can… Over and out."_

**…**

'I can…' He stared at the dull gray color of the control panels then at the six bodies that lay on the ground… Always the first to hit… the communications tower… Then everything would be easy…

It was just pure _chance_ that he found a group of soldiers a few meters away… _Chance_ that he observed another group walk to a tree and then from the grass-covered meadow, something shimmered against the afternoon sun. From the tallest section of the fort, down to the foundation, it slowly came to view… 

He had been searching high and low… now he knew… Optical, radar, and satellite invisibility… How it was accomplished, he couldn't care less… He's going to blow it up anyway.

Heero rounded a corner then stopped when he saw a group of soldiers… He had stripped the uniform in the communications tower and was wearing his usual _light_ clothes… Conspicuous that he was not one of them after their initial befuddlement, they charged.

He stood his ground… ready for anything they could give… Ten… a large crowd… for a small hallway…

**…**

A knock resounded in his small cell then a patch of white light from the small door near the ground.

"Gee… thanks… my last meal, right?" Jess grumbled under his breath as he took the tray of food. He didn't even know why he was taken prisoner the moment he stepped into this nuthouse! What he was told was that… Onie was dead… The only real friend he had these past few years in this damn compound was dead… Sadness found him again, an ache for his friend-

"Sir…"

The familiar voice made him check in his sarcasm. "Quentin!"

**…**

Heero was thrown back against the wall and pain sliced through his head. Was it he, or were these guys stronger than him…?

He dodged an incoming fist before it could hit him then instinctively brought his feet up for a good, hard, high roundhouse kick. Something fell on his arm… It could have been saliva, blood, or sweat but he didn't care… all he knew was he just needed to place one last bomb… 

"Ungh!" A punch grinded itself at his solar plexus and he gritted his teeth while he tried to control his pain. Something hit him hard on his head and another on his spine… Blood spurted from his mouth as he fell down on his hands and knees…

Heero gasped for air. Slowly, he looked up… and stared into the foreboding hole of a gun…

**…**

 "Sorry I wasn't able to report to you yesterday sir."

A sense of guilt ran through Jess. He was putting Quentin into this much trouble.  But he wanted to know- "That's alright. Were you able to call her and mail the letter?" He took the tray of food that was slid inside and thanked no one that the chef was a good cook.

"Yes sir."

"Good… Do me one last favor, Quen…" Jess opened his table napkin and smiled. 

"What sir?"

"Get everyone out of here… The team… your friends, my friends… Things are happening around here that I don't even know of… I don't want any of you to get hurt. Do it as quickly as you can."

Quentin bit his lower lip… Jessie had welcomed all of them with a warm smile… befriended the whole kidnapped medical team… no one wouldn't give their right hand or leg for him if he needed it. "Yes sir… I'll tell them."

The patch of light disappeared and once again, Jess was left in his dark cell…

**…**

The pictures on the screen stopped moving.

"He terminated the transmission… sir…" Mariemaia whispered sadly. 

"Where was he?" Wufei asked in barely controlled anger.

Mariemaia bit her lower lip then looked at Dorothy. "Somewhere south east from the Deccan Plateau… sir…"

**…**

The soldier pushed the trigger… Heero moved… but not fast enough. The bullet wormed through his shoulder and he couldn't stop the wince on his battered face. He rolled on the floor and tried not to think of his pain when another shot rang in the air then a throbbing sting spread from his leg. Heero stumbled then lay on the floor… gasping for air…

He's going to die… right here… right now… and still… one face was in his mind… 'Relena.'

**…**

Blue green eyes snapped wide open while a sudden deep breath went through her lungs like a swimmer who just burst out from the water. Pain exploded through her body from her gunshot wound but after only a second of shock… her hands went up to her face, grabbed the tubes inserted to her mouth and plastered on her nose, then tore them away.

'Heero…' It was almost as if she could hear him call for her… but she's so weak… 

She looked around and found no one… She pushed herself up, looked at the tubes and needles sticking from her arms then started to pull them away, biting back the screams that bubbled in her throat. She must get up… She didn't know why… except- except that somebody was calling for her…

**…**

"Abort action sequence four-ten!"

The loud order was shouted clear and strong… No more bullets were fired his way and Heero forced his body to turn one last time… to see who had ordered the ceasefire.

An old man came to view… a haunted look in his eyes… A haunted look that chilled Heero's blood… The man's eyes went over him, unfeeling… cold.

"Heero Yuy… One of the Gundam Pilots… It is only expected that you would be the one to find my project."

Heero grunted. So he's the head of this whole organization… He's the one who ordered that bullet that went through Relena's body… "Find it and destroy it." He didn't add the last one but his tone of voice hinted on it- 'And kill you…'

The man's face turned sour and motioned to one of his soldiers.

Heero grimaced and swallowed a cry as two people stepped on his hands and crushed it with their heel while another two held his legs down.

"Now let's see what you have…" 

Heero struggled while the man brought out his last detonation device… 

"Planning a loud _bang_ before you leave, I see…" 

Heero tried a smirk. "Yeah… and you'll be right in the middle."

The steel gray eyes pierced through him and Heero saw the old man grab a gun, then the sounds of bones against steel rang in the air… Stars exploded in his vision and then… darkness…

**…**

Dorothy gasped and both her hands grabbed the scarf's edge. Knowing Heero Yuy… Images of long ago memories filled her head. Images such as… explosions.

"Dorothy! I thought you said that the base had optical invisibility." Wufei demanded when he faced her then stopped when he noticed her deathly white color.

"They do…" She could barely talk… 

"How the hell did Yuy find the base?!"

**…**

She was finally able to get herself down from the bed… Finally… Her feet were wobbly as they tried to endure her unfamiliar weight while her hands clutched at the bed for support… 

Something trickled down her arm. She quickly glanced at it and saw her blood creating a river path down her skin from the needle holes. She bit her lower lip, trying hard not to succumb to that irritating darkness that was threatening to overcome her. She trailed the path of light that shone on her bed and she found the window… outside… the cloudy blue sky…

'I'm coming…' She let go of the bed and started to walk to the window…

**…**

Indescribably pain threatened to rip him apart… more so from his head… Heero fought to keep his eyes open. At first, he could only see darkness… The ringing in his ears slowly subsided and he blinked a few times more before he could finally see something… Liquid oozed down his lips but he didn't give it any thought as he tried to move his good hand…

He could feel a thick, sticky liquid substance on the floor and he could almost picture himself lying in his own pool of blood… 

His hands went to the belt around his waist, his good hand was being guided by his sense of touch… He couldn't move his back… Maybe he was paralyzed with that blow… either way… there's no turning back now.

His hands finally found the small lever behind the buckle and he stroked it like a kitten… trying to bring comfort to his cold body.

'Relena…' 

**…**

She reached the window… out of breath and cringing in pain, but she reached it… Heero's image flittered in her mind as she looked outside, at the late afternoon glow, and saw snowflakes start to fall and dance with winter's light breeze.

**…**

Heero closed his eyes… He could feel that tugging want to let go and just sleep… Even if he wasn't be able to destroy the base… at least he would be able to create just as much damage with the other ten detonators he'd already planted around the area…

His hands gripped the buckle… his thumb, only a small press away from the lever and yet he hesitated.

A tear slowly made way down his face as he realized something… 'I don't want to die… I don't want to die…' He wants to live… to stay with Relena. To be with her and no one else…

Coward. He's being a coward. Besides, Relena would be better off without him. What could he offer her? Nothing at all… He didn't have anything of value… He broke a promise before, now he's breaking one again. He's nothing but a thorn to her side- nothing but a damn problem. What good was accepting death if he wouldn't be able to bring down at least some of what had caused her pain?

It was as if someone had touched his heart and he didn't mind anymore that he was going to die…

'I love you… Relena…' He will never be able to tell her… There was a time when he told Trowa to follow his emotions. He thought he understood. He thought that emotions were instincts, and his instincts were honed for battle… for the mind, not the heart. Now, there was a different meaning ingrained in his mind. He will follow his emotions for what they are… what he feels… 

For her.

His thumb pressed the lever then unconsciousness enveloped him.

**…**

Pain exploded in Relena's lungs and her breath came in short gasps while her hands clutched at her chest.  She couldn't understand what was happening but she could feel so much… ache… and a foreboding feeling that Heero was in trouble…

'No… Heero…'

She couldn't breathe… Her heart was pumping too fast that her chest hurt… Shots of pain ran through her body. Relena gasped.

Her surroundings spun around her… Colors merged together… everything became one swirl… Her hands went out to grab for the curtains but the light cloth didn't hold her weight and started to rip… She could feel her body start to fall toward the floor and then darkness engulfed her vision…

**…**

Clear periwinkle eyes focused upon one door in the hall. An air of worry showed in every step while the edge of her white coat flapped against her legs. Her patient has yet to recover consciousness…

"Relena… why won't you wake up?" She whispered to herself as she neared the door to do a check up on her. She had promised Heero, and she will do everything in her power to save her.

Hands that saved countless of lives covered the doorknob, then with a flick of her wrist, she opened the room. Her expectant eyes fell on the bed, only for her to experience shock. 

The bed was rumpled, and all medical necessities lay in a jumble on top of the blanket. "Relena!" Her eyes quickly scanned the room and she finally found her on the floor.

Fear gripped her. That one emotion that always clutches at a doctor's heart when one knew that a patient was in trouble… She ran to her patient, and friend. Honey gold hair was in a jumbled mess while she lay in a half fetal position. Sally quickly turned Relena to her back and expert hands searched for a heartbeat on cold, white neck. 

There was no pulse.

"Damn!" She left Relena only to press one button against the wall, then she quickly went back, kneeled right beside her friend and lost no time as she started with rescue breathing procedures, then CPR when she couldn't feel any pulse. 

"Come on… Don't die on me…" She whispered as she looked at her friend's face. Lips, opened in a gasping position, were turning blue. Sally pushed Relena's head back and then gave her a breath, watching Relena's chest for that barely decipherable swell. 

She heard her two, hand picked staff from behind just as she finished giving Relena air. "AED now!" Her hands tore Relena's gown open and she thanked God that her hands were not shaking. 

One of her nurses efficiently attached the pads on Relena's chest.

"200. Stand clear." Sally ordered, her hands going away from Relena. She saw her friend's body jerk from the shock, then her eyes went to the green monitor. "Higher. Again." Why did she pick such a profession?! 

Relena's body twitched once again, but Sally's eyes only slanted. "Put it on full. Clear!" In her heart and mind, she willed Relena not to die. She got there just in time, that she could be sure of.  She looked at her other staff member. "Check if she's bleeding." This staff was specifically the one she chose to look after Relena… She trusts them with… everything.

The nurse shook her head. "None."

A slight relief went through her while her hands tore off the pads on Relena's chest. "Time!" She held Relena's head tilted while her nurse did CPR once again. She gave Relena another breath of air. They continued until her nurse prompted time. Sally quickly checked Relena's pulse.

No pulse…

She only had to look at the nurse in front of her and the pads were back. "Standard 3 shocks, 360 joules." Her voice was still clear and firm though deep in her, she was already shaking. Her eyes pricked with tears while Relena's body convulsed… Once… Twice… Thrice…

They heard that faint beeping sound and Sally's eyes focused on the monitor… 

Pulse.

Sally dropped on her buttocks and her shoulders fell forward in relief. "Thank God…" She swallowed, her throat parched, before she looked at the nurse by Relena's feet. "Bleeding?"

The nurse shook her head, a smile upon her lips. 

Sally felt her own smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Let's get her to bed. I want to make sure that everything is all right."

"At once, Dr. Poe."

They saved her once again… but what happened? Her eyes fell on the pale, unconscious woman in the middle of the cot and her resolve tightened. No matter what, she must not let Relena die.

**…**

Dorothy's mind was going too fast for her… way too fast… she could barely keep up… "What day is today?"

Quatre frowned as he walked to her then reached for her hand and nearly flinched at the ice-cold feel. He motioned for Yvan to help him and Yvan walked to them, not knowing what should be done. "Today is Wednesday."

'Thursday in India…' Images of torn flesh… of broken bones… of missing limbs… emergency room… "Wufei…" She turned to face him, her hands still in Quatre's grasp, and he saw desperation in her eyes.  "Wufei… Stop Heero…"

Confusion rose in Wufei as he stared at Dorothy in befuddlement… 

"Didn't you understand what I just said?!" Dorothy asked. Her voice started to sound more high pitched and frantic. "Stop Heero!" She looked around but nobody was moving… No one was moving… 

With a sigh of frustration, Dorothy pulled her hands away from Quatre then half ran, half walked to Mariemaia's seat. She nearly pushed the girl off the chair when she grabbed for the small speaker. "Heero! Heero Yuy, you answer this damn message right now!!!"

Quatre couldn't understand her but he walked to the soldier nearest to him. "Bring the location on screen, please."

The soldier complied. The large area of nothing showed on the wide, white screen… Dorothy looked up… The familiar surroundings… the whole location… it was all so large… and nobody could see it.

"Is there anything you can detect, Jerome?" Wufei asked after he caught a look from Quatre… 

Dorothy turned to glare at him. "Weren't you listening?! They have radar and satellite invisibility! Your instruments wouldn't be able to detect a fly in their compound!" She turned her attention back on the comm. "Heero! Dammit! Answer me!" She glanced up and images of Jessie came to mind instead of the clearing on the screen.

A hand went around her shaking hands and Dorothy turned and stared into clear aquamarine eyes. 

"Dorothy… It will take half a day to get there… but if you would just tell us what the problem is…" He could feel such a blast of emotion from her… confusing pain and hope… then anger and anxiety… So much…

She didn't want to tell him… nobody would be able to understand her situation… Maybe not even Quatre… "Heero will kill everyone in there…" 

Quatre's eyes hardened. "Maybe they all deserve to die… They tried to assassinate the president and hurt Relena instead… They were probably the ones who bombed that location where Trowa was because they realized that he was going to contact us… Melted communication devices were found there. Maybe they deserve what Heero wants to give them…"

"No… not all of them…" She couldn't believe she's hearing these things from Quatre! Not Quatre… "These people… their lives were taken away. You don't understand!"

"Make me understand, Dorothy… Make all of us understand." Quatre whispered as he placed his hands on her shaking shoulders. Was Dorothy… Was she actually… Had she finally accepted what he could feel she had?

From the sidelines, Yvan sadly watched Dorothy… Her desperate actions reminded her so much of what she had felt when she saw Quatre being led to the line of fire…

Dorothy's eyes moved from Quatre to the screen… How could she start…? How could she make him understand? Slowly… her muddled thoughts started to make sense… She opened her lips to start to tell him when-

Violent explosions erupted out of nowhere on the clear, flat area on the screen. A flare of greenish light then huge gouts of orange flame so bright it was almost as though they were in front of the real explosion. Their eyes squinted from the blinding light but one person kept her eyes wide, shocked and unable to turn away. Clods of dirt and sod thumped down onto the streets like a meteor shower, accompanied by a shower of sand… Huge clouds of black smoke poured out and for a moment, had made them unable to see what was happening…

Then… slowly… the smoke disappeared… the greenish light faded… and in its place… structures of blasted buildings… of rubble… shadows of scattered askew limbs… and… nothingness.

Everyone could only stare at the screen… but Dorothy… Dorothy couldn't breathe… it was almost as if she was right in the middle of that blast… almost as though smoke was clouding her eyes and suffocating her… She couldn't feel her body… She just suddenly couldn't feel her body…

Quatre turned around and saw Dorothy's stunned, pale face… Concern swept through him. "Dorothy?" She didn't respond… she didn't even give any reaction that she heard him… "Dorothy…?"

Bit by bit, almost as though someone else was guiding her head, she turned to face him. Quatre frowned at her lifeless blue eyes… She hadn't blinked yet… hadn't…. Deep shock… "Dorothy!" His hands went to her shoulders and he started to shake her.

Half the people in the room turned to face them… while the other half couldn't remove their eyes away from what they had seen.

He saw her blink… saw the light shine back in her dull eyes…

The pressure on her shoulders hurt… but the pressure on her chest was worse… They didn't do anything… Nobody in this place did anything to help her… After all the years she had helped the Preventers to find people… after all the help she gave them… nobody had understood when she had needed help… They all stood there and watched her… They do not deserve help… They don't deserve anything! 

A familiar emotion charged through her… anger and emptiness… Hate… Dorothy pulled away from Quatre's hands.

Quatre shook his head as he saw the message in her eyes, chilling his heart. "No… Dorothy… you know we couldn't have done anything-"

"I hate you…" Her voice was like the hissing of a snake… venomous and full of rage.  "I hate all of you!"

Her words, though soft, were taken to everyone's ears… before Quatre could speak, Dorothy had turned around and walked out of the room with her head held stiffly high in the air… As the door closed behind her… she left a dreadful foreboding feeling to everyone in the room…

She wanted to get out of that dreadful place… Out of that place full of people who said that they wish for peace yet they did nothing and didn't listen to anything she said… She bumped into someone but she didn't stop her walk… Her vision blurred but she held her head high…

She wants revenge… She wants all of them to pay…  for all of them to… die.

The door opened for her and she walked out to the snowy streets. Her hand went up to her hair to brush it back when it snagged against the hem of her scarf…

She looked down… Her nose came in contact with the white cloth and she breathed in his mint cologne… saw his daffodil bracelet around her wrist… and the tears that was shocked in place fell down her statue-like face…

Dorothy turned away from her limousine. She turned away from everyone and she started to run. She just wanted to get away from everyone. Everybody…  and be alone as she had always been… but now, she wasn't confused. Now, she knew exactly what she wants. She wants revenge. Just plain… sweet… revenge on the whole Preventers…


	60. Story 5: Righteous Mirage 12

- Chimera of Life -

**Story Five: Righteous Mirage**

**Chapter Twelve** By Heartfire 

~*~

It was late… cold… dark…  And yet she could feel none of these things because she was one with it… How could an empty shell feel anything more than such? She glanced up at the velvety sky without a single stud of glimmer… the moon was red as if tainted with blood and she looked away… Her eyes fell on a small church… White picket fence bordered its lawn and upon it, flowers with Relena's pictures…

She stopped just in front of its white gate… an open gate… Millions of people were praying for Relena… but who would pray for Jess? 

A fresh batch of tears clouded her eyes and she pressed her fingers to her trembling lips. She wants them to die… Maybe the same way Jess died… a loud, searing heat of explosion… It would be easy… so easy…

She started walking without destination in mind then she found herself in front of her own house… In front of her own lifeless house… She took out her cold key and inserted it in the hole… The door opened silently and when she stepped inside… it was just as cold as the outside…

Without bothering to take off her coat or shoes she started to walk up the stairs and into her bedroom… 

No noise… no laughter…

She closed her door… took off her coat then… almost ceremoniously, she took off his scarf… For a moment, she just stared at it then she brought it to her nose and smelled it once again… Her tears fell down and seeped into its folds… One hand went up to her collar and clutched the daffodil necklace while she walked to her bed… then she dropped on top of it and curled into a ball to silently weep on the scarf in her tight embrace.

**…**

"I'm going to kill him… I'm so going to kill him…" 

Hilde looked down at Duo's hands, wringing the life out of his fishing hat, and could only sigh. She could understand his frustration. She was angry herself! "Duo, please… I'm sure they have a perfectly good explanation for all of this."

"What explanation can that be? Why can't these dumb assholes-" Duo pointed an irritated hand at the men behind him just as they entered the building from the helipad- "Say it?!" Murderous violet eyes glared at the men with heavy artillery still pointed at them. This whole event was insane! "You hear me you freakin'-"

"Duo…" Hilde's reprimanding tone hushed him, but it didn't stop him from pursing his lips and pouting while they walked down the winding stairs. She held out her hand for him, and thankfully, he reached out for her.

"I'm sorry about this, angel." Duo whispered in a sigh. 

"It isn't your fault… It's Wufei's…" This time, it was she who felt the want to kill that pony-tailed creep for sending these men after them on their honeymoon- a honeymoon that she had waited for nearly ten damn years!

A sudden chuckle from her side made her slant her eyes at her husband.

"Careful, darling… I know exactly what you want to do to him." He saw her message loud and clear. Thank God she wants the same thing he does- murder Wufei for disrupting their honeymoon! They had been having such a good time… His violet eyes turned a shade darker as he glanced at the woman who held his hand, trying to see if he could get a glimpse of her navy blue bikini… the one she wore on the beach while he ran after her in his black shorts… caught her… rolled on the ground with her… and nearly made passionate love with her… then those bozos came in and scared the shit off them with their goddamn guns!

He almost thought that they were from Arche because they were standing against the sun's glare… then someone said something like- "Commander Chang's orders, sir. Sorry about this." The team of eight men only gave them enough time to put the first clothes they could get their hands on… He could still feel the sand on his skin, and that made him want to strangle the life out of Wufei. "Just make sure that I get a piece of him, too, angel… coz he didn't have any right to do this to us." 

"After I'm done with him…" Hilde muttered darkly. 

Duo felt the pressure on his hand that showed her anger. That's his wife! Look out, Wufei.

They finally stopped in front of a door. Duo's quick eyes surveyed the top of the line security pad, and his skin could almost feel the sizzle of lasers, ready to put a hole through any intruders. He looked up and he could almost tell where the microscopic surveillance cameras were located. When he glanced down, the same question was in Hilde's eyes- 'Why are they using the high maintenance security devices?' Well… so what?! He doesn't care! Wufei took him away from his fun and he's gonna pay!

One of the men punched in a number on the pad, but Duo saw that they could have used an ID, too. The door swished open and showed a room that made his hands itch. A room full of the best equipment- then the back of a man's head caught his eyes, and he remembered what he was here for.

"Sir-"

"The hell is going on here, Wufei?!" His angry shout caught everyone's attention, but he didn't care.

Slowly, Wufei turned and Duo almost felt a chill creep around his heart. Was that Wufei? Why the tired, haggard face? He could tell that his Chinese friend was trying very hard to cover it, but he could still feel it, and the inkling to beat the hell out of him slowly disappeared.

"Wufei… what happened?" Hilde asked, feeling the same reaction as her husband. She had seen enough of Wufei from their visits and never have they seen him look like… Her eyes widened, then her heart started to pump cold blood through her veins… "Where's Relena?"

Duo snapped his attention back at Hilde and saw her worried eyes. Relena… was this what it was all about? Where _is_ she?

"She's upstairs… Finally awake." Wufei's protective demeanor rose once again. Sally told them the news yesterday. She's finally awake and he'd see to it that she'd never be hurt again… 

"Finally?" Duo almost couldn't say that word. He could tell that Hilde wanted to ask a question, but she seemed to be in shock. So he asked… for both of their sakes. "What happened to her?"

"She was shot during her last conference, Duo…" Wufei grimaced while his hand gripped the other behind him. He looked around him and noticed stillness around the room. 

Hilde nearly took a step back while Duo… couldn't believe his ears.  He had to swallow a couple of times before he could speak. "Heero…?"

"He just blew up their base." He noticed the couple's pale face and he turned away to stare at the screen where the explosion was shown just a few hours ago. "I really don't care that he did. They were probably the same bastards who tried to assassinate her before… the ones who almost succeeded during my last shift with her. Damn assholes…"

Duo and Hilde looked at each other, their guilt obvious on their faces. It wouldn't do to keep it a secret… might as well say it… He shook his head when Hilde opened her lips, and told her with his eyes that he would like to be the one to tell Wufei… It was his fault. She only nodded and showed him that she will not leave his side.

"No, Wufei… they aren't…"

Wufei snapped his attention back at them, his eyes showed his confusion. "What the hell do you mean, Maxwell?"

Duo cleared his throat, feeling everyone's undivided attention on him and he stepped forward to block some of the stares away from Hilde. "I mean…" He remembered his plan. Hilde would wait for him with the gun after he gives his excuse to Heero. He'd sneak in the hall which he surveyed the night before, wait for Relena to drop the pencil, shoot, go back to Hilde with the ice creams, and finally, to Heero. It was all so simple. "They aren't."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. He doesn't need to tell Maxwell to explain himself. He could already tell that the braided man was going to do it.

"Her last conference with you… the assassin…" Duo gave a strangled, mirthless chuckle before he continued. "That was me." There, he said it. He could tell that everyone's eyes had gone wide, while Wufei's just did the opposite. His friend slowly walked up to him, and he forced his feet to stay put.

"That was… you? My shift?" Wufei's voice was unusually calm.

"Yeah-"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Wufei's hands snaked out to grab Duo's collar, then pushed him back until his so called friend hit the wall. 

Hilde nearly screamed in surprise and could only stare at the two.

 "I wasn't going to shoot if she wasn't going to drop her pencil!" Duo quickly voiced out, just to show Wufei that his anger was going in the wrong direction.

Wufei's hold loosened. "You mean she knew it was you?"

"No." Duo quickly shook his head. "I gave her a note." Duo could tell that Wufei didn't believe him.

"I didn't see it."

"She probably didn't show it to you."

Whether or not she showed it to him, he didn't care. What he wanted to know was… His hands tightened their grip on Duo's Hawaiian shirt once again. "What the hell were you thinking when you did that?"

"I was only trying to help, Wufei." Duo replied as calmly as he could, letting Wufei spew off his entitled anger.

"Help?! How?!" Wufei banged Duo against the wall once again. The braided baka was bigger than him, but bigger didn't necessarily mean stronger. "By killing her?!"

"I told you! I wouldn't have pulled the trigger if she hadn't dropped the damn pencil!"

"What kind of help were you thinking?! Putting her in intensive care?!"

Hilde cringed at her husband's demise. She also had a part in this. Duo shouldn't take this on by himself. "No… By getting Heero's attention."

Wufei knew exactly what they were saying but he couldn't see it. He didn't mind letting the others hear… they already knew that something was going on between 01 and Ms. Dorlian from the conversation before the explosion. He also told them what he would do to any of them if it got out. "There were others before yours. What made you think that Yuy would go out of hiding with that one?"

"All the other attempts were not as close as ours was." Hilde answered for both of them. She could only pray for this to end.

"And we succeeded, Wufei…" Duo added. They succeeded.

Wufei's hold slackened then before anyone could have predicted what could happen, his fist lashed out and embedded itself in Duo's lower stomach.

Duo's body jerked forward, surprise etched on his face while Hilde gasped. Slowly, the braided man fell down to his knees with his hands clutching gut, and mouth open in almost a silent scream. He knew he deserved that one punch… and he will not go after Wufei with that one, but when he felt Wufei grab his hair and pull him up… anger started to spawn its ugly head in him.

"She was better off without him." Wufei muttered under his breath while he remembered Relena's face during their last conversation… Heartbreak… and Duo had a hand in playing with her heart. He couldn't stop himself as he gave another mind numbing blow on Duo's solar plexus. He saw Duo's violet eyes widen in shock… Heard Hilde's voice from behind… Ping's voice… What do they know of what Relena had gone through? They weren't there to see… but he was… 

He let Duo's hair go, and he saw how the braided baka's eyes slowly dimmed. He stepped back and Duo fell to the floor. Without another word, Wufei turned around and walked back to Mariemaia's side for her orders while Hilde rushed to her husband. He could feel Ping's disapproving glare on his back, but he couldn't care less…

**…**

A soft knock pulled her out of her dreamless sleep, and slowly, Dorothy opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought that everything was a dream… that everything was just as it was but then her eyes fell on the scarf still, pressed against her lips… Everything crashed around her once again and she kissed the scarf while her eyes closed and she tried to conjure an image of its owner…

The soft knock echoed once again and a hushed voice followed its suit. "Ms. Dorothy? Are you awake?"

Dorothy sighed. Her face felt- as kids would say- icky, and her throat was parched but other than that, "Yes Melanie… I'm awake." Now…

Her meek, middle-aged servant walked into the room with a tray of steaming soup then gave an apologetic smile at Dorothy. "I'm sorry if I woke you up, ma'am, but… I was worried that you might have a fever and… well… I know that you do not eat airplane food and you just came back from your trip yesterday… and I didn't hear you come in until after midnight…" Her words trailed off as she looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.

Dorothy frowned, a bit confused… Melanie was actually worried for her? "How long have you worked for me, Melanie?" 

"Nearly ten years, ma'am…"

Dorothy nodded… she hadn't realized that… actually, she never really gave much thought about her until now… What Melanie just said had… somewhat… filled something in her… "Have I been a good employer, Melanie?" She watched her servant bite her lower lip. "Answer truthfully now."

"Overall, I will say that you are, ma'am… You are efficient and demand the highest from everyone but that was expected… and you've never screamed at me nor hurt me… so I will say that you are… a good employer."

Before Jess, she had never really been aware of anyone… "Good… but not the best, am I correct?"

Melanie didn't answer.

"Don't… you don't have to answer." Dorothy sighed before she pushed herself against her headboard then arranged the scarf beside her. "Bring my breakfast then."

Melanie shook her head. "Er… Ma'am… it will be an early dinner… or a late lunch…"

Dorothy's eyes swiveled to her clock and saw the time… It was nearly five in the… afternoon. She had slept the whole day away… "Fine… early dinner then…" She had slept the whole day and yet she still did not feel refreshed.

Melanie arranged the tray on top of Dorothy and her hand reached for her spoon. 

"Your letters are waiting for you in the bowl ma'am." She fluffed Dorothy's pillow then poured her water.

'Letters…' Dorothy sighed. "Bring them to me and read whom they are from."

Melanie nodded and left.

Dorothy stared at her bowl… She really didn't want to eat… but her stomach was telling her otherwise… Melanie came in with the bowl full of letters and she gave a deaf ear as the senders were read one by one. 

Bills… request for donations…  Jess…

Her spoon dropped onto her bed as a small gasp of surprise escaped her lips when she realized… "Melanie…" 

Melanie stopped reading.

Dorothy swallowed… her throat suddenly so dry. "Bring that letter to me…"

"Which one, ma'am?"

"The one…" Dorothy closed her eyes then opened them again. "The one from Jess Matthew… then take my food away and close my door."

Ever obedient, Melanie placed the envelope at the foot of her bed then took the tray and left Dorothy who stared at the letter as if it was a snake ready to bite her…

"Jess…" With one hand on his scarf, she kneeled on her bed and then reached for his letter… True enough, it was in his handwriting… Her hands had grown unsteady once again as she slowly ripped the glued lapel… The letter was plump… three sheets…! Half of her couldn't wait to read his letter while the other half dreaded what it would say… 

"Dearest Dorothy,"

Dorothy closed her eyes at the pain she felt… It was the first time he had started his letter with an endearment and it was all for naught… 

            "I hope by this time, my assistant was able to contact you… I don't want you to worry or break my promise. Things have been hectic around here. I don't know what's been happening but I'm in the thick of things- or so they say.  The moment I stepped inside the compound, I was arrested… and now here I am, writing my letter. Don't worry. My friends are giving me enough food in my cell and I don't think that Blake would keep me in here any longer- especially when I start demanding to speak to Morley… Although, if he actually does make me contact Morley, I will be in deep trouble… Why? I guess it's time to tell you the truth…"

Dorothy frowned. 'The truth…?'

            "First and foremost, I want you to know that I am still aware about our situation… We are enemies… but I cannot turn away from my feelings…  what I feel for you… You don't have to read this letter… It will be mushy- probably not the type of letter you'd wish to hear from an enemy… but if you do read this letter to the end, then I hope that you could imagine my silly grin."

A sad, little laugh escaped her lips that almost sounded like a sob. She could truly imagine it. It took her a couple of minutes before she could focus the letters on the paper and read once again.

            "The truth is, Ms. Dorothy Catalonia… sweetheart… I love you. I don't know if you know this already, but if you didn't, then now you do. As I write this letter, I wish from the depths of my heart that you feel the same way for me- no… What I truly wish is for you to be with me right now."

This time, she dropped the letter on her lap, grabbed for his scarf, and she buried her face against its soft texture before her tears could fall. It took her a few more minutes to collect herself… to be strong enough to face his letter and read his handwriting…

            "If you don't feel the same, I guess it's just my bad luck… if you do, then I will tell you right now that I'm the luckiest man alive… I almost couldn't let you go in that cabin… I didn't want to go… But I had to. And now, I'm in a fix. I am going to tell you things and in the end it will be up to you to decide… whatever you decide on, I will respect it, my love."

Now, she couldn't look away… 

            "My full name is Jess Daniel Callum, and yes, I have four older sisters. All those silly stories I told you about them weren't lies. Morley was the lie. He never sent me. The letter I had was a fake. I took a chance and Blake bought it hook, line, and sinker. I was on leave when I stumbled onto RJ. There wasn't any time to tell my superiors. They must have thought I had gone AWOL but I didn't. I couldn't contact them because all means of communication were traced. It was too risky… I never asked for a day off for fear that I might miss something but… I couldn't help myself when I asked for my three days… then my ten days… I had forgotten to contact my superiors but it was worth it, just being with you. Now, I would like to ask you to do something for me and it would be up to you if you want to do it or not. Please tell the Preventers about RJ and help keep the hard earned peace on this world…"

Dorothy's eyes widened in disbelief as slow realization came to mind. 'No…'

"I know that you've probably heard, if not had a run in, of them. Please tell them. 

Code name: Jessie Matthew

Serial Number: A7865I10

That's all I have to say. I'm sorry about all the lies… I wish I could take them back… Well… I'm running out of space to write… Gee… this is a long letter… I think this might be the longest I have ever written. Well, one more thing before I say good-bye, my darling. I love you. And now, Till we meet again.

            - With all my love, Jess Daniel Callum"

The sheets of paper fell down from her hands and onto her lap… He was a Preventer… "Jess…" Her Jess was a… a part of the group she had cursed… had planned to wipe out and now… here he was asking her to go to them… to tell them…

Her pride clashed against her feelings for Jess and in the end, the latter won, though she would not go to them anytime soon… She wasn't ready to look at them after what they've done… 

"They already know… Jess…" Her whispered words were said in a gasp as a burning sensation went through her chest. So… He was in one of the prison cells when Heero had bombed the place… Then there was no chance that he had escaped…

Delicately, she picked the strewn papers on her lap then pressed them to her lips. "Till we meet again… my darling…" Once again, he had soothed her feelings, even after he was gone… Her anger… her thirst for vengeance had disappeared and her empty feeling was replaced with bittersweet memories… In her heart, she had known that what Heero did was for the best. It was needed. She just… she just couldn't accept Jess's death…

The soft ringing of the vid-com in her study made her grimace… There were only a few people who knew her personal number… And she does not want to talk to any of them.

Melanie's soft knock resounded through her room, and then her meek face appeared as the door opened slightly. "Ms. Dorothy, there's a call for you."

"I don't want to talk to anyone." Dorothy whispered while her hands caressed her mementos of Jess.

"He said it's important."

'Everyone says that…' Dorothy sighed. "Who is it?"

"His name is Mr. Blake… Brandon Blake."

Her hand went up to the base of her throat then her head jerked up to look at Melanie as if she'd seen a ghost… "Blake…?"

Melanie nodded. "That's what the man said his name was…"

Her hand raked through her hair while another straightened her blouse. She must look presentable… "Tell him to wait a few minutes." There wasn't any time to waste… If Blake was alive… there was a chance that Jess might be… a slim chance but…

She splashed cold water on her face and then rubbed her face dry, checked her reflection then rushed to the vid-com in the other side of her room. After she was sure she looked calm enough, she turned on her monitor.

Blake's haggard face appeared on the screen… haggard yet… cold… something had changed in him… 

"Miss Catalonia."

"Mr. Blake. What can I do for you?" Dorothy nodded while her hand clutched at her skirt.  

"I'll come down to the point, Ms. Catalonia. We need money. I have some people who are hurt-"

"What happened?" Dorothy cut him off while her hands gripped her skirt tighter. She must to bid her time…

Blake's cold eyes turned a shade icier. "Somebody was able to get inside the compound. It was only going to be a matter of days before someone else finds us after that, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and evacuated some of my men."

Dorothy frowned in confusion. "Some? Some of your men? Evacuated? What do you mean?"

"I had to leave a couple of hundred behind so that when the forensics team come in and investigate, they will think that the operation had been… terminated, then I pushed the compound's self detonating device."

A chill went up her spine… This man had decided to… to just leave people behind and to… to blown them up…! That would mean that it wasn't Heero's bombs… That Heero also… somehow…! No… it couldn't be… But, Heero was inside the compound. Mentally, she offered her condolences to Relena while a part of her wished… "Wh-what about your med teams? How are they holding up?"

"Sad to say, Ms. Catalonia, none of our med team was able to make it." A murderous look passed over Blake's eyes once again, "Neither did the trespasser."

Her last bit of hope shattered into a thousand pieces and Dorothy finally let go of her grip at the hem of her skirt. She forced herself not to look away… Tears threatened to surface in her eyes but she held them back. Her brain had started functioning once again… sharp as ever… "How much do you need?"

"Twice the amount we asked from you before."

His answer was quick and prompt… That could only mean that he had thought of this before he called her… "Where are you? I'll drop it off as soon as I collect it."

Blake smiled. He knew he could count on her… Without a second thought, he told her his coordinates. "Morley didn't know that I built this facility as a precaution. I am proud to say that I'm glad I thought of the future."

"Yes… of course." She had written down the coordinates on a piece of paper and had tucked it inside her blouse. "I'll have to work fast, Blake… Give me at least three to four days… Can you hold off till then?"

Blake nodded. "Yes, of course. I've got enough men."

"Good. Then…" Her eyes slanted in a look that one couldn't decipher whether she was smiling or glaring, "_'Till we meet again_." She had turned off the monitor before Blake could respond.

Dorothy pulled the scrap of paper from her blouse then stared at it… Only a while ago she had told herself that she wouldn't go near the Preventer's base anytime soon… but now…

Jess's words came back to her- help keep the hard earned peace in this world… He's dead and those were his last wishes… It would be a cold day in hell before she lets him down… Besides… the facts were clear. It was Morley who murdered him…

"Melanie!" Dorothy stood up and walked to her bed, then grabbed his scarf. She stared at it, reliving the memories that she had treasured. Her door opened and Melanie came in. "Tell Joed to bring the car around."

"Now ma'am?"

Dorothy slowly wrapped his scarf around her neck. "Yes. Now."

**…**

She wanted to turn away when her car stopped in front of the building, but she caught a scent of his mint cologne and his request came to mind. 'Jess…' She hadn't done anything for him. She never cooked for him… never fed him… never really had been nice to him and yet he loved her… and she loved him. 'Just for you…'

Dorothy closed off the people around her as she purposely walked to the farthest elevator. She would just go in there and then leave. The door swished open and she walked on the same path she had gone to just yesterday… I.D. pressed onto the pad, the door opened. The furor from yesterday had died down… Half of the people inside the room were not there but the two Gundam pilots were… the girl who was comforting Quatre and that irritating green eyed girl… no- make that three Gundam pilots and add Hilde on the list… With the way Hilde and Duo were staring at her, it was obvious that those two just came in… Then again… everyone was staring at her.

'Let them stare.' She walked straight to Wufei who stood near Mariemaia and then slapped the piece of paper on the counter. 

Wufei looked down at the paper, obviously confused as to what it was.

"It isn't over." Dorothy announced in her low voice. Frowning faces locked on her and she pointed to the paper once again. "Blake's alive. He contacted me just minutes ago."

Wufei looked from Dorothy to the paper. "Dorothy, this isn't a trick you're playing, is it?"

"I'm telling you the truth." She breathed in deeply and tried to gather her patience once again. "Tell me… how many bodies have been recovered from the explosion yesterday?"

Wufei looked at Mariemaia who glanced at a paper. "Nearly two hundred, Ms. Catalonia… but the exact count is still to be determined."

"You won't get more than a fourth of Blake's men… He planted those people there so you would think that it was over… but it isn't."

"Dorothy, what do you mean 'he planted'?" Quatre piped from behind Yvan.

"I mean _planted_…" Dorothy lowered her face as she announced the sad news. "Heero isn't here is he?"

Nobody answered her question, but that only proved her point.

"He won't be coming back… Blake killed Heero… it was the compound's self destruct devices that went off, not Heero's."

Silence encompassed the room… A deathly chill… Quatre grabbed hold of Yvan's hand just as Duo and Hilde reached for each other. That could only mean that Heero… 

"You're lying!" Mariemaia's eyes glistened with tears as she spat out her accusation.

She tried not to feel their pain but it was hard… Was it not just yesterday that she had lost him? "Wufei… listen to me and check these coordinates… Blake is waiting in another compound… I only bought you a few days…"

"Why should we believe you?" Wufei snarled as he glared at Dorothy. "How could you expect me to believe you when you want to kill us?"

Dorothy's eyes widened slightly while everyone else almost held their breath.

"I saw what you wanted to do yesterday, Dorothy. I saw it." Wufei gave a cursory glance at the piece of paper then snorted. He saw what she wanted to do through her eyes… "It would be so easy for you to look up a strip of land in India, then tell us that there's another compound, and finally…" Wufei looked back at her. "While our team is out there, an ambush. Our men in the field will die with bullets while our bases will be blown up right in front of our eyes."

She couldn't speak. He was too near the truth… She had thought of doing that but…

Quatre shook his throbbing head. "Wufei… stop this, please. Dorothy is not a killer."

"It takes one to know one, Quatre." Wufei answered sinisterly. "She can't even defend herself. Do you want to know why? Because she knows I'm telling the truth."

"Wufei! Will you just shut up!" Duo roared as he moved forward. He wasn't there yesterday, but he sure had had enough of Wufei beating the hell out of everyone! 

Hilde grimaced as Duo and Wufei glared at each other and she mentally prayed that her husband wouldn't do anything stupid.

"What the hell is your problem?! Why don't you just check the coordinates?! There ain't any harm doing that!" He glanced at Dorothy, still shocked in place, eyes wide with slightly parted lips, but the one thing that truly caught his attention was the expression on Dorothy's face- that haggard, tired emotion and eyes that obviously cried throughout last night. "Look at her!" Duo pointed at Dorothy. "Just look at her and tell me that you don't really believe her!"

Quatre did as Duo asked. He truly did looked at Dorothy, and now he saw what he didn't see when she came in… Pain… heart wrenching pain. Her eyes had clouded as if about to cry and he was torn between comforting her and stopping a brawl.

"She's a great actress, Duo."

Dorothy's eyes widened a bit more as Duo's fist connected with Wufei's cheek. She _never_ expected _Duo_ to _defend_ her! She had never expected anyone to defend her… until Jess. Quatre tried to stop them, but somehow, he got caught inside the brawl and now, he was fighting the two while he shouted for them to stop.  Her head started to throb and she began to feel dizzy. 'Stop it… Stop it!  Stop fighting!' She was screaming but nothing was coming out of her mouth. Suddenly, she felt people beside her and she opened her eyes to find Hilde on her right side and Quatre's friend on the other.

"Are you all right?" Yvan asked, concerned for the pale woman.

Dorothy nodded even as she clenched her jaw. "Can't anybody stop them?" She tried to focus and finally stepped away from the two women, still not wanting to feel indebted to them while her hand instinctively went up to her forehead. Hilde and Yvan didn't go near her again, and she thanked them for that.

"They're men." 

The frustrated sigh left the green-eyed blonde Dorothy had wanted to punch yesterday. She heard Hilde's soft chuckle.

"That's how they settle things, I guess…" Remembering that day when she saw Duo and Heero's bleeding nose after they came back to Relena's house, and she found that the two unhappy couple that had a misunderstanding. "That fight had been spewing off since yesterday."

"And it's time to end it.  It's a waste of time." The woman in the Intelligence Alliance uniform muttered as she pulled out a gun and then… fired it just mere inches away from the tangled arms and legs.

The three stopped. Wufei had Duo's braid in a grip. Duo held Wufei's collar, fist about ready to punch. And Quatre, in between, had his hands in a stilled action of pushing both men off from each other.

Dorothy would have laughed, if she didn't feel so empty. She decided that she liked this IA officer.  

Wufei looked at the people around him then, finally, to the blonde woman with green eyes as she nodded with satisfaction and turned her attention on Mariemaia… "Check these coordinates. I want to see if it's a clear land, Mariemaia."

"The hell you will!" Wufei cried as he pushed himself away from the floor, only to invite the gun to position between his legs- right on his... Wufei stopped and glared at the woman defiantly. "You wouldn't dare…"

"I hope you remember what happened the last time you said that, Chang."

Mariemaia and the other women held back a nervous snicker while Wufei held his ground. Even Duo and Quatre could only give a look of disbelief! 

"I gave an order." Ping's commanding voice boomed out with a warning.

"Yes ma'am." Paper in hand, Mariemaia turned back to her control panel and started her search. The screen in front blinked to life, and the Preventer's satellite did its work as the Earth Sphere was shown first, then a clearer view of Asia, of India, and finally, of the strip of land. "The coordinates, ma'am."

Everyone looked at the screen. It was obvious. A compound could easily have been easily set up on it… Wufei remembered a few chopped down trees around the area, well concealed, making one thing that it was some illegal loggers' work… now… "Dammit." 

The moment Wufei had muttered that word, Dorothy knew he finally believed her. She wanted to gloat at him, wanted to push his face against the screen, but she didn't feel up to it at the moment. Somehow, she understood why he reacted that way. Right now, though… what she really wanted to do was to tell Relena the sad news…

She let the stream of commands from Wufei and that woman pass her by like the wind as she turned around and headed for the door. She would go with Wufei and kill Blake herself. He doesn't know it yet, but she will. 

"Dorothy…?"

Quatre's voice penetrated through her throbbing head and she stopped. She could feel Duo's, Hilde's and that red haired girl's eyes on her back, too. Why were they looking at her? "What is it?"

"Where are you going?"

His voice came from just beside her but she didn't turn to look at him. She focused on the shut door. "I'm going to see Relena."

"Why?"  Mariemaia was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way.  Defiant blue eyes met her tired ones. 

"Mariemaia…" Quatre's warning tone didn't do anything as Mariemaia blocked Dorothy's view of the door.

"Why, Dorothy? So you could hurt her? You hate her so much, don't you? Don't you?!" Mariemaia whispered as she glared at Dorothy. 

"You don't know what you are talking about." Dorothy whispered through parched throat. Does she have a fever? Why was she sweating like this? Why does she feel as if she's about to keel over?

"Don't I? I've studied all of you since I was able to read. I know every one of you… Every action you made was calculated to hurt Ms. Relena. Well… I'm not going to let you."

"Mariemaia! Please..." 

Quatre's voice was lost as Dorothy met Mariemaia's challenging eyes openly. She's too tired to keep her wall around. "You are too naïve, Mariemaia… I never hated Relena… I envied her." She saw confusion shade the teen's eyes, and she continued. Let it be laid to rest, then. Let everyone know, then. "She had people who loved her for who she was. Who adored her. She had a family who loved her. She had everything a little girl wished for… She retained her innocence even after everything. That is something to be envious about." She looked away as she thought of Jess. Relena's feelings for Heero was something she laughed at in the outside, and another thing she envied in the inside… now, though… "Now, I don't envy her, Mariemaia…" They both lost someone… how could she continue to envy her?

"You're going to hurt her…" Mariemaia's voice now sounded small but still strong. 

How does it feel to have so many people trying to protect someone? "Would you rather she cry her heart out after she's well? What kind of a friend would want that?" She walked forward and met no hindrance. She reached the door-

"She's in Room 450… Ms. Catalonia…" 

Mariemaia's soft voice whispered to her as the door opened. She nodded her thanks and then the whole chaotic room finally closed behind her…

**…**

 "HOLD IT! STOP! I SAID STOP!!!"

A hail of bullets came from behind but they didn't listen. They couldn't. Their burden was heavy, and drops of blood fell onto the paved ground, only to instantly disappear by the thirsty soil.

"STOP FIRING YOU FOOL! YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THE PROTOTYPE!"   

"That's right… stop firing…" Panting, they reached the wonderful machine. That machine for escape- "Get inside!" With only a cursory glance to check up on the other figure, the lithe body turned. Eyes aimed while arm locked the only weapon they have against rib, and then the trigger was pulled. 

They were on the assault now. No weapons could be fired their way, but they could. From the corner of the full 180 degrees of sight, movements of pulling their burdens inside were noted.

"I'm in! Come on!"

Hands grabbed the load upon shoulders, then in another instant, the gun. They both have an understanding. They will make this plan work, no matter how insane it was.  Ears picked up that deafening sound of continuous laughter of machine gun while nimble hands tried to work on controls.

"I think I'm running out of bullets!" 

"Just give me a couple more minutes!" Where? How? This was an insane plan… The helicopter was beyond scope of mind-

The rotor blasted to life just as the chopped roar of machine guns died. "Close the door!" Ears picked up that clamped noise before hands did any more. The machine responded quickly—it was a wonderful machine…

Their plan will work… 

From behind, a surprised gasp came.  "We made it…?"

No… "Not yet…" They're not out of danger just yet… Fingers flicked radio controls on to eavesdrop for pursue, while a sharp mind tried to get acquainted with the controls.

"You're bleeding." 

Bleeding… Bleeding like there's no tomorrow… but- "I'm okay." Need to be. Must be. There was no other way… 

"You're not—!"

"I'm okay! Just drop it." Death? No way… Survived this long… 

"I never noticed-"

"I said drop it!" Silence… A sigh. "Don't worry… Trust me. I'm fine." Liar. Bones and muscles ached. Head was pounding, could barely concentrate… No… Must! 

"Is there enough fuel to get there?"

The answer was a nod though inside, it was only hope. They will have to land in the rural city beside… It'll be a long drive… Before that, they will have to steal gas for the prototype, too, and some extra ones to make a bonfire out of this baby.

"How will we get a car?"

"The same way we got this… We'll steal it. Get the owner as a hostage if we need to."

Silence met ears and there were no more words to say… No more…****

**…**

Guns still smoked in his soldiers' hands while smoldering ashes of dilapidated, just attacked barracks in the military base left a nervous Major weak as he waited for an important person to show up on screen. The General will have his hide… He will be stripped of his rank… How the hell did those people get inside the camp?!

"General McGregor." He snapped in attention as the man with a sprinkle of gray hair against brown and clear, intelligent green eyes met his.

"What's the emergency?" The look on Major Fuller's face was that of sweaty nervousness. Was it that bad?

How should he phrase it? How- "The FX 08 was stolen, sir."

McGregor's eyes slanted in fury. Fury was the only thing he could feel right now. Incompetent- "Was it loaded?" He must know… if the FX 08 was equipped with guns, they were all going to be… Dammit! Why did the Intelligence ever wanted to build this stealth helicopter-

"No sir. It wasn't loaded."

Relief passed as quickly as surprise. It wouldn't take long for those people to get their hands on the needed weaponry… He must contact Une. Damn! He wanted to contact her for a different reason, but now, that will have to wait.  "Destroy the files on FX 08." They will never be able to track it down… Where would it head?

"Sir?!"

Nearly four years of research and development, down the drain… But he already warned the IA's a long time ago. "I said destroy it, Major." With a quick salute, a signal to end the conversation, he gave a glare. "Fix up the base. I'm going to hunt it down." There was no way to know where it is, but he should, at least, try.

"Yes sir." 

The Major's face disappeared and McGregor's face fell in worry. Could the ones who stole the FX be with the RJ's? He hoped that Wufei would be ready, if worse comes to worse.

**…**

She knocked before she entered and found a pale Relena, staring outside her window, as if a million miles away… The room was different from any hospital area she had ever encountered. This one had that homey look…

"Ms. Relena…?"

Slowly, Relena turned to the voice and found Dorothy, walking towards her. She smiled faintly though it never reached her eyes. "Dorothy… I can't believe you're here… How have you been?"

Dorothy smiled hollowly at her question. She was the one who was supposed to ask that. "I've been better."

"You look tired… Sit down." Relena motioned to the comfortable chair beside her bed.

"You're the one to talk." Dorothy answered as she eyed Relena with a brow raised while she sat down on the offered chair.

"It's a part of the hospital look… Tired… sleepy…" Her eyes took on that lost look as she glanced back at the window. "… drugged… lonely… pining… take your pick."

Dorothy felt a chill up her spine. It was almost as if Relena… knew…! No… It couldn't be. "Relena… I have some bad news…"

Relena's hand involuntarily went up to her chest. From Dorothy's voice… "It's Heero, isn't it?"

Dorothy nodded, even though Relena wasn't looking at her. "Heero's…" Her eyes burned once again. How she hated that word. Tears formed at the tip of her eyes. "… dead…"

The last word was said in such a low tone that it was almost inaudible, but Relena heard it loud and clear. She didn't understand the emotion that encompassed her. She couldn't put it in words except that… it hurts so much… yet at the same time, it didn't… It was as if she expected the news ever since she thought she heard Heero's voice whisper those three words in her dream. No tears came to her eyes. She had cried too much in her life for so many things, and yet this one… the one that was causing her the most painful agony… No tears came… Instead, her hand just went over her fluttering stomach.

 "I… I'm sorry… Relena…" She couldn't understand why Relena wouldn't cry. Why?! Here she was with unrelenting tears, and the person she thought would cry more was not doing as she had expected…!

Her choked voice made Relena look at her and found… Dorothy's head, bent down…  her straight blonde hair, a curtain for her face…  her shoulders were rocking with… sobs…? Her hands were clutching at her skirt with tight fists…  and tears… were dropping upon her hands and skirt…  Her response shocked Relena. Could it be that…? "Dorothy…? Was Heero…?" She couldn't even finish her sentence! 

Dorothy jerked her head up at the implied sentence, and for that single moment, forgot her troubles. "No!" Then her face softened and the tears came again. "No… not Heero…" She looked away. Why couldn't these tears stay put the way she was able to a long time ago?!

"But someone you loved, all the same…" Relena whispered as she reached out her hand and placed it on Dorothy's slightly shaking shoulders. "I understand."

"I know you do…" Dorothy sighed. "It's just…" Just what? Just that she couldn't seem to accept it? Why did it have to be him? He was innocent. He was only trying to help!

"They're still alive, you know…" 

Relena's words made her frown and Dorothy turned to stare at the woman as if delirious. 

A soft smile appeared on Relena's lips as her other hand went to her chest. "They're still alive in our hearts… Our memories." She let out a sigh as she looked out that window. "I will always cherish them… I know that you will…"

Dorothy shook her head… How could she say that so calmly?! This was what she meant by her innocence! Her unselfish love, while she… she couldn't seem to let go…

"And you will know him, too, my dearest…" 

Relena's hands curled over her stomach while Dorothy felt adrift in an endless sea of confusion once again. What had Relena meant? She could only stare at the woman she half admired and half hated. Relena seemed to be in a world of her own… had she gone mad?!

"He's come home, darling… you're daddy's finally free…"

Dorothy's eyes slanted to focus on Relena's hand… the one so protectively curled over her stomach. Realization coursed through her… Relena's…  "You're pregnant…!" 

A serene smile with a slight droop at the corner hinted upon Relena's lips as she nodded. "Sally just told me when she…" A sad chuckle left her lips as she remembered that eerie feeling that coursed through her… the way she thought she heard Heero's voice call her… and then, somehow, she seemed to see a glowing Sally over her. The next time she opened her eyes, Sally had looked at her with relief then started screaming at her in anger… asking her why she did such a stupid thing and that if she wouldn't take care for her sake, then to do it for the baby… 

The _baby_. "When she got mad at me," Relena finished. The baby… A month and a half… Hers and Heero's. Their child. Heero's parting gift.

"Heero's…?" Dorothy couldn't believe… How could she ask if it was Heero's?! She knew all too well that Relena would never give herself to anyone else… Oh God! She was happy for her, sad for her, and envious of her… Hands curled over her knees to clutch at a handful portion of her dress, and her face fell to focus on them… then she felt a hand on her shoulder and she saw Relena's small smile.

"Dorothy… please be happy for me. I… I never really had him… This is the only part I have of him… It's ours and it's the only thing that's keeping me sane right now."

So many things in such a short time… So many things! How could she still breathe? God! Her surroundings were spinning! Dorothy forced herself to concentrate on Relena while she tried to fight that feeling of vertigo.

"You know what's funny, though…?" Relena's voice was feathery soft while she gazed at the snow that began to fall… 

Dorothy turned to the window, her lips dry and throat suddenly parched. "What?" Her question almost came out in a gasp as she tried to keep her breathing even.

"Call me crazy… but…" Relena pulled her hand back to her side. "I don't feel as if he's dead… I feel as though he's still out there… fighting… waiting to come home… to come back to me…"

For the first time, someone voiced out how she felt… Someone had voiced out her insane thoughts. "Relena… I know exactly what you mean…"

Then Dorothy pitched forward onto the floor, and in her mind into darkness… Dimly, she heard a woman gasp her name, but for now, she welcomed that relief into the darkness… Her escape… 

Somewhere inside the room, the clock ticked its continuous rhythm while the two women, one conscious, the other unconscious, ached and wondered when they would come home… into their love's embrace…

**~*~**

**{Author's Note: ** Hello everyone! I'm sorry that you guys had to wait a long time for this story to be over *embarrassed smile* But, I hope that this chapter was interesting enough for you! Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone. Guess what! I've just graduated! Hopefully, I will finish this story soon. All of you who have continuously read my stories- THANK YOU SO MUCH! So, here is the preview for the next story, and hopefully I will get the kinks out very soon. With tons of my happiness to you all, 

~ Heartfire **}**

**_Preview:  Wisdom's Harmony_**

_She awoke to the startling sound of thunder, rolling into the night as though sweeping away boulders from their area. God! Her heart was pounding so loudly against her ribcage… and she was drenched in sweat!_

_Outside, she could hear the harsh pelting sounds of raindrops as they dropped from their cloudy throne, onto their destruction. Oh God. She had that nightmare again… She quickly looked to her side and smiled in relief that her tired husband hadn't woken up. If he had, he would be half dead tomorrow. _

_That strange feeling, as though something was calling her to look outside, made her turn. Gingerly, she walked, barefoot, to the nearest window, and then she saw a still shadow she could barely distinguish. But it was there. That tall build… getting wet!_

_She quickly ran out of her bedroom, through the living room, and out of the house just in time to see him turn around as though reaching the decision not to bother the household. "Trowa!" _

_Cathy didn't care about getting her clothes wet as she ran to the person who had caught her heart the way her little brother had done, so long ago. If only he was… Triton. "Trowa!!!"_

_Keith woke up at his wife's shout. Trowa… so, he has come… Finally._


	61. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 1

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter One

By Heartfire

~*~

_Away! We know that tears are vain,   _

_  That Death nor heeds nor hears distress:   _

_  Will this unteach us to complain?   _

_  Or make one mourner weep the less?   _

_  And thou, who tell'st me to forget, _

_Thy looks are wan, thine eyes are wet _

_~ Elegy by Lord Byron ~_

~*~

Anxious gray eyes stared at the crackling small fire in the hearth of their fireplace. The smell of pine coursed through her lungs, but the cold, restless feeling didn't leave her. Slowly, as though her eyes were being drawn by a spell, she looked outside her curtained window.

She had every light in the apartment turned on, but she still didn't feel safe and her fragile hands went around her small body in an embrace. Her eyes tried to look through the curtain of rain, but she knew that no one was there.

Rain… 

She grimaced. How she hated this natural event. She hates it even more when she is alone, left to brood… and brood she did, thinking of the haunting past, best forgotten… The time when she was a child and mother gave birth to her… long lost brother.

A tear escaped the corner of her right eye as she stared at the gloomy scene outside. 'Wherever you are, I hope you are safe…'

She could distinctly remember that night, even when she was scarcely seven, nothing but a child who should have been playing with the animals. Instead, she waited outside their trailer while her mother screamed in agony from childbirth.

Mother…

A friend of theirs, willow in feature with dark ringlets of hair, fit for the gypsy role she played in the circus, had come up to her with a smile. She said that good fortune would be bestowed upon them because the blue moon was at its zenith.

At that time, she believed her… What was her name? Ah yes, Elynth, and her blue moons. It is sad that up 'till now, she still believes in small things as fates and chance.  She had been laughing, thinking all would be safe when Elynth suddenly stopped and stared at the sky. She could remember that distinct color of orange red that slowly crept from the southwest section of the moon, and her older friend's whispered words of 'Blood and fire…' coupled with a panicked look that had sent shivers up her spine, just like now.

The words paralyzed her and only the small drops of rain she had first felt on her nose made her move to ask 'Why?' Elynth didn't even acknowledge her as a sad look fell on her face and whispered 'Rain… The sky weeps… while the moon is on fire…' right before her mother's bone chilling scream.

Her father had ran outside the trailer, calling for her. When he saw her, she couldn't believe her eyes… He was crying and he embraced her so tightly… almost as though afraid she would suddenly disappear. 

It wasn't more than a couple of hours later when she was allowed inside the place she called home. She couldn't understand why it took so long when the laboring was finished hours before… and when she finally saw her mother, she knew that… it would only be a matter of time…

'If only we had money for the hospital…' She sat down in front of the small fireplace and tried to warm her suddenly cold body. The coolness of the marble floor underneath her buttocks seeped through her, not comforting her in the least. Tears fell more freely down her cheeks, caught up in the memory of that solemn promise she made as a child to her dying mother that she would look after her brother… and she had kept that promise until… it was broken by a circus fire… Her three year old, wonderful, dark brown haired brother whom she couldn't find… and her father who was a victim of a burning log while helping rescuers… Two people she loved most in the world in the very same day… and it was raining.

How was it that the rain was not able to stop that raging fire?!

'God… what did I do to deserve that?' There was a small hope, deep in her heart, that her brother was safe and alive somewhere, but it was just so small… Tears trailed down and created a small puddle of water on the floor. She moved and some fell upon her legs. If it weren't for her friends whom she acknowledged as family, she would be a sour, sad girl…

'I hate rain…'

The moment that thought left her, the front door suddenly opened and a chilly breeze from outside rushed through her entire body. She quickly turned and watched as a man, drenched from head to toe, closed the door. His sandy blonde hair looked black and he swiftly discarded his coat. A puddle of water slowly formed in front of the doorway while she stood up and ran to him. 

"Where have you been?" She didn't mean to sound so demanding, like an old harping lady, but it was raining outside, and the emotional ride she went through just wasn't helping matters at all! 

"I'm sorry I'm late. I tried to get home as fast as I could." Keith looked around, eyes darting from one corner of the small apartment to another. "Is he here yet?"

She couldn't care about the mess he made as her hand wiped away the tears that still shimmered upon her cheek. He was supposed to be home nearly half an hour ago, and he knew he should have called, and he knew that she hated waiting anxiously—especially when it was raining! Most especially when it was! "No. He's not, but Keith-"

"I'm sorry, Cathy…" Knowing that their visitor hadn't arrived yet, he hugged the woman in front of him, the one who caught his heart with her wonderful spirit and wavy reddish brown hair. "I know how much you hate this… weather." All too well… He grew up with her, and knew the slightest jump from thunder, and cringe from the slimmest lightning… As she grew older, she was… placid, yet one could feel her dislike of it. She would have been all right, had she been surrounded by the others, but… he left her alone in this apartment…

He felt her arms go around him, and he finally felt at home. He almost didn't make it… The store almost closed before he got there with enough money. He took a small step back and from his soggy pants, he drew a crumpled plastic bag. He quickly shook it over his palm and out came a velvet box. "This is for you, sweetheart." 

Keith saw Cathy blink in surprise. He couldn't help the chuckle that left his lips as he opened it and revealed a necklace with an elegant chain and a delicate small rose that dangled in the middle made from rose gold. He saved for this gift, and knew it would be worth it. "Happy first anniversary, darling."

Cathy's mouth opened and closed as she stared at the gift, knowing that it must have taken him… time, and sweat. "I… I thought you… forgot."

"Cath, you should know by now that I could never forget anything about you, about us." Sad to say, but he was hoping it would rain on their anniversary, just so he would be able to see her smile while water poured outside. The last time he saw her smile while it was raining, was when she brought Trowa back and they found he had amnesia. It was such a long time ago, but now… Her smile was iridescent as she looked up to him and kissed him.

"Happy anniversary, Keith…"

He knew that the pain would never really disappear, but he hoped that he could make enough happy memories to balance it, and he knew that today was one of it.

"Come on. Let's get you out of those clothes and get something to eat." Cathy quickly pulled him towards their bedroom.

He knew what she had meant, but he couldn't help himself as he twisted her words. "Mmm… Getting me out of my clothes, huh? Is that my gift? I like the sound of it." 

The gay chuckle that left her mouth made him grin. "Just be happy that my knives are all out of reach right now, Keith." She had cooked their dinner and hoped that it wasn't overdone, waiting for him and their visitor in low simmer, but it seemed that the rain delayed their guest. He might come tomorrow instead… That means, after dinner, her husband could have that gift he so seriously hinted upon, one of which they would both enjoy.

**…**

She awoke to the startling sound of thunder, rolling into the night as though sweeping away boulders from their area. God! Her heart was pounding so loudly against her ribcage… and she was drenched in sweat!

Outside, she could hear the harsh pelting sounds of raindrops as they dropped from their cloudy throne, onto their destruction. She had that nightmare again… She quickly looked to her side and smiled in relief that her tired husband hadn't woken up. If he had, he would be half dead tomorrow. 

That strange feeling, as though something was calling her to look outside, made her turn. Gingerly, she walked, barefoot, to the nearest window, and then she saw a still shadow she could barely distinguish. But it was there. That tall build… getting wet!

She quickly ran out of her bedroom, through the living room, and out of the house just in time to see him turn around as though reaching the decision not to bother the household. "Trowa!" 

Cathy didn't care about getting her clothes wet as she ran to the person who had caught her heart the way her little brother had done, so long ago. If only he was… Triton. "Trowa!!!"

Keith woke up at his wife's shout. Trowa… so, he has come… Finally.

**…**

The pale faces of the buildings stood under the onslaught of rain, and the gray contours slowly appeared as the last periphery of light retreated from the overpowering darkness. 

"It's midnight…" The whispered words left his lips as he stood in utter stillness under the shadow of a tree. His grip tightened around his knapsack's handle. He had been standing at the border of the park, outside a row of small, identical houses since late afternoon. Waging an inner battle as to whether to walk to the house and ring the bell… or just leave. 

Leave? Who was he trying to fool? He came here ahead of the circus for one purpose only—to spend time with her. He… missed her. A year and a half without her presence and he had grown back to a silent stone. He jumped at the very chance of visiting her when he learned that they were going to give a performance in the city she was living in. He told Lanus that he would go ahead of the group. Yet now, here he was… having second thoughts.  He might be intruding… 

"I should have called…" He looked at the ground and knew that he would never do that. It was not in his nature. Then again, did he not think, once, that he would never be able to feel any emotion from both heart and soul? 

He had seen how Keith ran blindly to the house… had seen how the couple hugged against the window's lights. She was happy… he could not intrude.

He turned around just as one post light flickered its dying breath. She was happily married now… she might not have any time for him and might think that he's a nuisance... 

"Are you just going to leave without even saying hello?"

He stopped. Slowly, he turned. His ears hadn't deceived him. She was standing on the concrete pavement that separated the park from the housing development. She was wearing a jacket, obviously hurriedly put on and her wavy brown hair was plastered on her head, soiled by the rain. She didn't look a year older. 

"Well?"

A playful grin played on her lips and Trowa tried to reign in the happiness he could feel. "Hello, Cathy."

"Hello, Trowa."

She smiled widely then, and he felt like smiling along with her, but he didn't. He looked behind her, at her house, and saw the opened door with… Keith standing by the doorway, a welcoming grin on his face.

Trowa nodded his greeting and the man waved back in return. Keith, the reason why Cathy left the circus last year… She got married a few weeks before she left with Keith. He didn't know the man too well. He never really tried to get to know much of the workers around. Of course, he knew that they were coming back. Keith only asked for two years to get his PhD in medicine then promised that he will return as both the circus' doctor and worker. But Trowa knew that things would never be the same between him and Cathy… How could they stay the same when she has someone else to take care of now?

Catherine crossed the small distance between them, and when Trowa didn't back away, she hugged him as hard as she could. 

Trowa blinked in surprise then looked back at Keith to see how he would react. Surprisingly enough, Cathy's husband only smiled wider. 

"I missed you Trowa… How have my little brother been?" 

This time, he let a small smile leave his lips. She still acknowledges him and a warm, cozy feeling rushed through him. It was wonderful to hear her say those words… _little brother,_ though he was never little, and he was never her brother… Yet the way she was embracing him… How could he have ever thought that she would forget him just because she married…? "I've been fine, Cathy."

Slowly, her embrace eased then she stepped back and looked at him. She brushed back his wet bangs, touched his cheeks, and smiled a knowing smile… She could see that he was happy, and that he was trying his best not to show it. Her decision to marry was a hasty one, and she had felt as though Trowa had recoiled from her that whole week until she left. How she wished she could have talked to him, but… it became so busy and then it was time to say good-bye. 

"Trowa…" Her hands went down to hold his. "You will not leave. You are going to stay in the house, and wait until Lanus and the others get here."

Trowa frowned- how did she know?

Cathy only grinned as she tugged her 'little brother' to her house. "Lanus called me and warned me that you went ahead of the group. I've been waiting for you since this morning." When she saw him, just standing there by the side… when he turned away, she knew she couldn't let him go without talking to him.

They reached her house and Keith let them in.

"Hey, Trowa." Keith closed the door behind them. He was determined to get to know Trowa, for Cathy's sake.

"Keith." Trowa nodded and once again, that protective feeling overcame him… The man had better be taking good care of Cathy… or else.

"I'll just prepare you something to eat." Cathy went ahead while the two men looked at each other carefully.

"She had been waiting for your visit for a long time. I'm glad you finally decided to pass by." 

Before Trowa could reply, Keith turned away and followed his wife, leaving Trowa to watch how a doting husband treats his wife.

**…**

_Gray eyes disappeared under thick wavy brown hair as another heart wrenching scream made the forlorn figure cringe. Small hands quivered as they clasped and unclasped, while chapped lips muttered a prayer only a child could give…_

_"God… Please… Make it better… Mama shouldn't cry like this…"_

_The child shook her head, wiping her tears against emerald green skirt. "No… Maybe if we had more money… if mama was in a hospital…" Her words died on her lips as she heard another scream and she hugged the woman tighter than before._

_Slowly, Catherine looked up and saw the clear night sky, illuminated by the pale silvery moon. "The moon."_

_"It's the blue moon… it will bring your mother good luck."_

_Small hands wiped away lingering tears to get a clearer view of the moon. "It isn't blue."_

_A soft laugh answered her. "Shall I tell you why it is called blue moon?"_

_Catherine nodded and the older woman motioned for them to sit. She was about to start when dark clouds shed their shadows upon them. The Elynth's catlike eyes grew solemn and she quickly glanced at the trailer._

_"What is it?" Catherine asked curiously while her head slowly tilted to the side._

_"Child, fetch me some water while I check on your mother."_

_Never unable to say no, Catherine quickly stood up. "Tell mama that I love her." She started to walk but curiosity drew her back and she watched as the older woman slowly walked to her parents' trailer._

_The air around her was suddenly rocked by fierce winds while thunder crashed in the distance. Catherine shivered and brought her hands around to hug her waist, but what disturbed her more was what the winds had carried over for her ears to hear…_

_"A bad omen…"_

_She shook her head… "No…" Child of eight that she was, she knew what Elynth had meant. She looked up at the blue moon, but what she saw was a telltale reddening from the lower face of the once silver moon. "No…"_

_Lightning struck above her and leaves slashed small cuts along her arms-_

"NO!"

Catherine quickly sat up on her bed, her chest heaving with painful breath. Her hands went up to her cheek to wipe away a trail of tears then she looked to her side, at the lump beside her. She gave a sigh of relief that Keith hadn't woken up. She had already disturbed his sleep once… He needed rest for the test that he had been studying for all weekend long. 

Slowly, she moved away from her husband, tucked her feet in slippers then softly padded out of the room. She needed some fresh air. This was one of the things she missed about the circus. You go outside your trailer, and you will have the whole area of circle for yourself… but in this city, you only have your patch of grass in your backyard. 

She sat down on her steps then stared at the dark sky. 'Triton…' The coolness of the damp concrete underneath seeped into her, making her shiver. Tears misted her eyes as she remembered her mother's pale, pained face so long ago… She had promised with all her heart, yet she broke that promise… erringly so. 

"Cathy…?"

She nearly screamed, but she caught herself just in time. With her heart thumping against her ribcage, she turned away with an embarrassed smile. "Trowa, you scared me!"

He looked down at her and he could tell that something was bothering her. He thought that someone- a burglar- was inside the house when he heard the questionable creaks and steps, but it was just Cathy. "Are you all right?"

She moved a bit to give him space. "Yes… I just had a bad dream." She patted the space beside her. "Sit with me."

Her voice was like that of a siren, luring him… making him feel the desire to be with her… and like the sailors in the stories, he was not able to stop himself from doing what she asked him to do. He sat beside her and he was surprised at how she instantly leaned against him, as though they had never been separated for more than a year. "Do you want to talk about it?" He found himself asking, just as he found himself embracing her shoulders.

She shook her head. She couldn't even if she wanted to. "Let's talk about something else." Cathy paused, trying to think of a good topic. "Tell me about the circus. How does it feel getting steady income from the government instead of relying on crowds?"

Trowa shrugged. He didn't really care about the money. He only stayed because… he felt responsible for them now. "Everyone seems to like the new system." Funny… he talked more just tonight than he had for the past year and a half! His answer seemed to have satisfied Cathy because she nodded.

Cathy smiled as she remembered her friends, but the shadow of her dream kept rearing its ugly head. She needed to talk. Get her mind off it. "You know… whenever I get my nightmares, I tell myself that there are others who have worse dreams, and I would look at a star…" She paused and pointed at one bright, shiny one.

A smile lighted Trowa's face. Smiling, having his face stretched this way and that, felt weird since he rarely gives himself the pleasure, especially after she left. "Cathy, that's Venus. A planet."

She only shrugged, snuck a look at Trowa's face and grinned to herself at his expression. "The point is, I wish on a star that nightmares would turn into beautiful dreams."

Trowa nodded, as he stared at the planet. Sweet of Cathy to always think of others. She was more important to him than he could ever realize. She was family, by heart if not by blood.

"I'm so glad you're here…" 

Her whisper reached him and he only tightened his embrace. He didn't feel so bereft any more, now that she's here. His mind echoed her words… So was he.

**…**

Chocolate brown eyes opened wide. Terror clearly etched within dilated irises as they stared at the dark ceiling. The tangled sheets around limbs had felt like the ropes that bound the body to the chair within that dream. Shaking hands covered a face while tears silently fell from the corner of closed eyes. Slowly, the person on the bed moved, a shadow against the darkness. 

There was only one place to loose oneself, and the figure quickly walked to reach it. There will be no sleep tonight. Not after remembering the past. Somewhere, out there in the world, children who woke up screaming have their parents' arms around them… or a loving brother, or sister… 

'I have neither.' The sad thought left like a mournful sigh as an arm waved across a panel and dim lights switched on. 

 Tubes and glass with various liquids winked from the corner of the room, and the figure slowly walked towards it. 

So many dangerous chemicals… so many dangerous solutions. 

A hand closed over a syringe and misty brown eyes showed a battle between fear and want. Under the dim lighting, a translucent arm reached out, bare for that silver stinger. 

The needle winked wickedly, it's sharp, silver tip, taunting. 

Yet as the tip closed nearer to soft flesh, words echoed somewhere in the depths of the mind. 

"I will help… I promise…" 

The syringe fell from shaky hands, then the body followed onto the floor. Shoulders rocked and muffled sounds came from parched lips, yet no one came. Own hands wrapped themselves around torso, wishing for that one person's touch… that touch that would never come… that hasn't come since everything changed… Alone. That was the truth in life…

A person was born alone. 

A person will Live alone.

And finally, a person shall Die alone. 

That was the way of life… 


	62. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 2

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Two

By Heartfire

~*~

"I stink!" Gray eyes crinkled in disgust as they eyed the target rings with four knives outside the bulls-eye.

Trowa's lips quivered with suppressed mirth while Keith made faces, five paces away from the target. He surely must buy some earmuffs if he was going to continue standing next to Catherine while she practiced her throws.

"You can say that again! I can smell you all the way to the Swiss Alps! You're the most odoriferous homo sapien I've ever smelled!" 

Gray eyes turned to slits as they glared at the sandy haired man, yawning in obvious boredom. "Keith Almeida! Don't you dare give me those big words!" Her hand went back, then sliced the air forward, her wrist snapping, and the knife went true to its aim.

"Bulls eye." Trowa observed with his lips in a slight tilt while Keith whooped.

"See that, Trowa? That's the only way to get her to concentrate!" Keith shouted as he walked towards them while Cathy tapped her foot on the grass, obviously annoyed.

'Wouldn't want to be in his shoes.' Trowa thought as Keith stopped in front of his wife with a wide grin. 

"You're going to sleep on the couch tonight." Cathy muttered loud enough for both men to hear then turned around with her chin in the air.

Trowa saw Keith's jaw fall just as Cathy grabbed his arm and started tugging him away. "Come on and lets practice our old act without Bozo the clown over there."

"I was only joking!"

Keith's wail brought another suppressed smile to Trowa's lips.

"Honey! Sweetheart!"

"Aren't you going to answer him?" Trowa asked as he looked down at Catherine's hair. He was a good head taller than her, and with her thick bangs, he really couldn't see her face. She tilted her face up and Trowa nearly gawked at the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and that smirk on her lips.

"Let him beg some more. He shouldn't have pissed me off." With that, she flipped her wavy hair over her shoulder, and then aimed a glare at Keith who stood near the tree by himself with shoulders slumped.

Trowa couldn't stop it anymore. Just four days in their company and it would make even the saddest man smile. He felt like a new man. The chuckle left him before he could do anything about it. Cathy looked at him with a grin and nodded.

"Ah hah! I heard a chuckle!"

Trowa quickly denied it. "No you didn't" 

Cathy rolled her eyes. "Well, anyway, I'm so glad you're laughing again." 

The grip on his arm loosened then he felt her arm go around his waist in a loose hug. He felt so secure. "He was right, though. Getting you mad was the key."

"Oh! So now you're siding with him?!" 

The playful glare on her eyes showed him that she didn't mind and he only nodded. Cathy exaggeratedly huffed, pouting her lower lip. "If it weren't for Ginger and Ale getting sick, and the circus needing one act to fill a spot, I wouldn't even spend any time with you two. Men! Honestly!"

Trowa felt the urge to tweak a lock of her hair in a brotherly fashion, but instead, he only shook his head. They received a call earlier during the day, asking for help, and Cathy willingly offered her services. She was a bit rusty at first, during the beginning of their workout, but he already saw her skills returning. Just like what happened a little while ago. She wasn't even looking at the target and she was able to pin it. 

"We only have two more days to practice. I'll grab some apples in the fridge." Sadly, he edged away from her and saw Keith walking towards them with Cathy's other knives. Keith waved and Trowa nodded slightly. 

'One thing was for certain…' Trowa opened the backdoor to the house and walked into the kitchen. Glancing at the window, he witnessed how Keith hugged Cathy from behind. His lips curved up in a genuine smile. 'Keith's not going to sleep on the couch tonight.' He turned away just as Cathy and Keith kissed each other. Opening the fridge, he looked for the apples and briefly wondered how silly he will look once he has the fruit over his head for Cathy to aim for.

**…**

"Nervous?"

Cathy nearly jumped at the voice. With her heart thudding a mile a minute, she turned and smiled at Trowa. Her eyes raked over him, inspecting his costume. He was wearing a different outfit from the ones he used before, having grown a bit since his teenage years, but he kept the half mask. 

She remembered the time when she picked it out for him, trying to put together a costume for the 'new boy'. She knew it would fit him, showing only half of his real self to the world while hiding the other. She was curious of him, and then she began to feel protective of him after she heard some of their fellow performers joke about him. She never regretted reaching out to him… because he reached back to her, even though it took time. "You look good."

Trowa nodded, securing the mask. Half hidden within the shadows of the backstage flaps, he looked at the full house front. "It's packed." He saw Keith over with the other acrobats, helping them fix the trampoline's tension while giving instructions to a teenager, daughter of a pair of their acrobats. 

"Yeah." Cathy swallowed. She was nervous and excited at the same time, but it always happens. "I've missed this."

His eyes softened as he looked back at her. He could tell. The circus was a part of her. That was why he stayed, even after she left to help Keith with his studies. He stayed because they were precious to her heart. He stopped performing on the very day she said good-bye, waving and smiling, yelling she would be back. A small voice doubted her, a bit jealous of Keith because he was taking her away from him. But now, he understood. 

One of the lions roared from behind them, shattering through the noise around them. Trowa quickly turned and walked to the cage, holding out a hand to the four lions. 

He frowned. 

They seemed… tense.

"What is it?" His low voice was calm and soothing. One of the lions moved towards him and licked his outstretched hand, nearly tickling him. Golden brown eyes stared at him. Troubled eyes. His own deep forest green met them, wanting to understand what it was they were trying to tell him. 

Something moved within the shadows to his right and he quickly turned to it. Nothing, save for the flapping tent cloth. His hand curved over fur and rubbed while eyes slanted and searched for whatever it was. 

He felt as though he was being observed… He hated such a sensation, especially since he was usually correct whenever it happens. 

"Trowa." 

The sudden contact of flesh against his bare shoulder nearly made him move into defense mode, but he turned as though nothing happened while his hand slowly moved away from the lion's head.

"We're up." 

The sparkle in Cathy's gray eyes, the breathless sound of her voice almost made him forget his apprehension… almost. He stood up and walked beside her, waiting for their prompt. The moment they were announced, they moved into the light. 

Cathy chanced a look at Trowa, his face the usual mask of stoic unconcern, his rippling muscles in a relaxed stance. She looked in front of her and noticed Keith wave to her and give her a thumbs up sign. Her smile grew wider, but her unease also multiplied. They may have been separated by more than a year, but she was as receptive to him as ever. She knew that look in his eyes, though he hid it well. "Trowa, what's wrong?"

He didn't even bother to lie as his eyes darted here and there within the shadows of the stands. "Just perform like you've always done, Cathy. Let me worry about the other."

She nodded, understanding. "Just be careful." With that they forked their path. Cathy walked to the other side while Trowa walked towards the large bulls eye, uprighted table. Again, his eyes skimmed the audience then paused by that patch of shadow at the topmost stand on his left. 

There. 

The person hid well. He could barely distinguish it, but he knew it was there. He looked back at Cathy as she did her beginning act and waited for them to call him. 

It seemed as though time was moving fast, and he found himself spreading his arms and legs over the table, getting his hands and feet secured. He saw the question in Cathy's eyes, but he couldn't answer her yet. The person hasn't done anything. It seemed as though whoever it was, it was just content to sit and bid its time. 

A knife landed mere inches away from his ear but he didn't flinch. Another landed between his fingers and the feel of cold, sharp steel echoed the one in his heart. The crowd had gasped. Cathy was doing her job well.

All too soon, the show was over. He was quickly untied, and he turned to help the person unknot the ropes. When he looked back up at the patch of shadows, he saw no one there any more. The person had left. 

Cathy walked up to him then held out her hand. He enveloped it with his own then they bowed to the cheers. 

"Well?" Cathy asked, her anxiety showing through cold hands.

"We were being watched." Trowa whispered just as they turned away from the crowd and started walking towards the back flaps.  Once they were within the safe shroud of the tent, Cathy faced him and Trowa saw the fear in her gray eyes. Fear for him. Her concern.

"Trowa…" 

The catch in her voice made him shake his head. His hand involuntarily went to her cheek, and Cathy saw that the half of the face uncovered by the mask had an almost indecipherable smile. 

"I'll take care of it."

She tried to smile, but something tugged at her heart. The feeling of danger. But she knew him, and she could only nod. "I know you will."

He could see her confidence in him and he was determined to find this person. "I'm going to change. Stick close to Keith." That said, he turned away and walked towards the trailer that he, at the moment, shared with two other men. 

His senses were alert, scanning the areas around him as he walked through the dimly lit paved soil. His eyes searched for any life inside the blue colored trailer but he only saw darkness. Trowa opened the door and shadows enveloped him as though he stepped into an abyss. 

He unhooked his belt, his eyes already focused on that part of the door where the hook was nailed. "What do you want?"

Something scraped in the direction of the window- a chair.

"No one could ever surprise you…"

His heart stopped. His hands grew cold and clammy in less than a second. He was ready for anything. He was ready for a gun against his neck, a knife against his back, even a charging body… but he wasn't ready for that… soft whispery voice.

Slowly, with his heart pumping the fastest in such a long time, he turned around. Large blue eyes stared at him from the direction of that sound, and it felt as though the cold hands of death clutched him by the neck.

A multitude of emotion coursed through him, but the one that dominated them was anger. "Must I repeat myself?"

The eyes disappeared and Trowa could almost imagine them, looking at the ground. They were gone for so long that Trowa nearly imagined that he must have dreamt all of this. Then it appeared once again, soft blue eyes that met his hard glare. 

"I need you." 


	63. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 3

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Three

By Heartfire

~*~

Silence such as he had never he had encountered before touched them. Not even the gay music from outside penetrated through the thin wooden boards of his trailer. She needs him. How could she just suddenly appear in his life like this and demand for such a thing? 

"Trowa… please… I need you…"

Her voice came once again, and a sound left Trowa's voice. Was that a strangled chuckle? He saw her cringe, and he wanted to see more of that pain in her eyes. "To do what? To kill for you? To kill innocent people? Or do you want me to blow this circus up?" Those eyes that had haunted him for so long suddenly filled up with tears, and his sweet taste of victory turned sour.

A sharp intake of breath was heard before she spoke again while memories of the past assailed her. "I tried… to explain-"

"I don't need your explanation." He had seen what he needed to see. The truth. 

"Trowa-"

"Midii, you do not need me." He heard the pain in her voice… that was how she had uttered his name that last day he saw her, and just like that day, he turned away from her. "You do not need me at all."

A sigh like that of the wind reached his ears, and he felt his skin crawl from those sharp flashes of remembrances.

"Yes… I do."

A cold hand touched his bare muscled arm, and he quickly jerked it away. Cold hands… She always had such cold hands, not like Cathy. 

"Please…"

Thank God for darkness. "Midii, just tell me what you want, then leave." He felt her pain more than he saw it, and then he felt her move away from him. Good.

He would not let her in… She should have expected it. She cannot do anything about that now… but she must do this. "I need your help… I need you to come with me."

An incredulous grunt left Trowa as he turned around to face her. "To where?" His lips quirked in a sinister fashion and he couldn't understand this deep craving to break her. 

"To India…"

India? Trowa rolled his eyes uncharacteristically. "Get to the point, Midii. What's in India?"

'My life.' Midii's hand went to her chest as she closed her eyes. "I do not have much time. I can only tell you this… come with me and protect this world you once fought for."

That caught Trowa's attention and he looked back at her, a frown upon his brows. "Go to the Preventers."

Midii looked away. She had worked for the Preventers before, but… they will not trust her any more, at least, she does not think they would. Now, though… her father was dead, one of her brothers shared the same fate through the war, and the other in an asylum unable to withstand the mental strains during the war.  Without them, nobody can manipulate her again… unless they find out about… "They won't believe me…" 

Trowa's eyebrow rose as though he knew that such a thing would happen. Once the Preventers were deceived, the deceiver will never think to cross their path again. "What makes you think that I will?" 

Midii bit her lower lip, swallowing the lump that had caught in her throat. "The thought that maybe… you once knew me…"

Trowa met her gaze and for once let her knew what he thought. "I never knew you, Midii. Never." The tears he saw fell down her cheeks… he could tell, and he could already imagine her trembling lips, but though something in him yielded, he was still spurned by the pain of her betrayal. 

Silence encompassed them once again… an eating silence. A detestable one, but he did not cede. He won't. 

"I'm sorry, Trowa… for everything."

He heard her move to the door.

"Forgive me."

Her voice held her tears, but his heart was stubborn. She opened his door, and moonlight poured inside the dark trailer. The past haunted him and his hand raced up to his hair to push it away as though by doing so, he was also pushing those memories out of his mind… but they held clear and strong. "How could you expect me to forgive you?" He leaned against his wall, feeling so weak and strong at the same time. Was this it? Was this truly what she came here to do? Why now, after all this time?

"I only ask you this..."

His ears perked at her soft voice, and though he did not look at her, his full attention was snared.

"Do not make the world suffer because of what I did. I can live without your forgiveness, though I would rather not… but can you live with the thought that your loved ones died with something you could have helped me stop?"

There it was… her manipulative part. That part he had seen a long time ago. Her voice was soft but it held a threat and showed the strong woman beneath that frail body and sensitive eyes. He succumbed once… He will not again. 

"If you change your mind…"

His head turned, but she had already closed the door. Trowa turned on the light switch and he had to blink a couple of times for the spots to leave his vision. His eyes traveled around the room. She didn't take anything with her… not that there was anything of value anyway. But…

He walked to the dresser and stared at the brochures. She left some things. Cautiously, as if it were a snake about to bite, he reached for them. "Airplane ticket… One way." To India. It was set for today- tonight. He couldn't help but remember her eyes when she said that place. What was so important in India? Why was it that… he felt that he must go there? Granted, he doesn't trust her, but there was just something about this that made him wary. His instincts had always guided him, and this time, it was telling him to follow Midii though he was angry with her.

The sharp rap against his door nearly made him jump. It opened, revealing Cathy with her gray eyes full of concern. 

"Trowa?"

He quickly pulled off his mask and placed it atop the ticket. "What is it, Cathy?" the way her quick eyes glanced at the table, at his mask, showed Trowa that she noticed.

"I saw someone running away from here… I was just..." Cathy bit her lower lip, unable to determine that look upon Trowa's face. "Tell me…"

Trowa shook his head before he looked away. "There isn't anything to tell." He saw her move closer, felt her touch on his hand, and couldn't help but follow her gentle touch to move his hand away and let her show the thing he was hiding.

"Is there trouble?"

Trowa moved away from her, walking to the bolted window. He heard the heightened concern in her voice and he mentally cursed himself for adding a burden to her peaceful life. "I don't know yet."

"But you want to make sure… don't you?"

Trowa shook his head. "No." The moment he uttered that syllable, he knew he lied. Midii knew him better than he thought. She dangled the right motivation in front of him- protecting his loved ones. He suddenly felt a touch on his cheek and slowly he turned, meeting Cathy's eyes. 

"Yes. You do…"

The way her voice echoed his mind… the way she looked at him… Trowa leaned to her, closing his eyes and touched his forehead against hers. "I don't want to leave you." He doesn't. Not again. He doesn't want to lose this peace in his still troubled heart. 

"But you have to, don't you? Just to make sure…"

Her breath touched his cheek, telling him that this was reality. He could hear the crack in her voice. The tears… He could remember stories of his co-workers of how she would wait up for him during the evenings after he left, staring at the sky, willing for him to be all right. He felt her hands cup his cheek, pushing his face away, yet at the same time, caressing it.

"How long?"

Trowa shook his head, his eyes still closed. "I don't know."

"Dangerous?"

He shrugged. Midii didn't say.

"When?"

"Soon." Very soon… Tonight. Why so quickly?

"I guess… there's only one thing to say."

This time, Trowa opened his eyes. Trails of tears trailed down Cathy's cheek, but a hopeful smile shone on her lips. 

"Take care, Trowa." 

He was suddenly encompassed in a hard embrace and slowly… his hands encircled her waist.

"I don't want to lose you… I don't want to let you go. God! Why does this always happen?" A sarcastic laugh left her before she slowly moved away.

Trowa felt his heart in a jumble. He had a life and Midii just had to show up to ruin it again. 

"I had a brother once…" Cathy started before she wiped some tears away. "If he had grown up, I would have loved for him to be like you…"

His throat felt as though a thousand wads of cotton was pushed down into his esophagus. "I probably had a family once…" Tears started to sting his eyes and he had to blink quickly to stop them. "If I had a sister… I wish she was just like you…"

Tearful smiles lighted their faces. Trowa touched her cheek just as she brushed back his hair to look at his face and memorize his features. 

"Write to me… even if it's only every month… even if it's just a word. I can't bear not knowing if…" She couldn't end her sentence. The time during the war, she was beside herself, trying to know if he was still alive, or dead. 

"I will. I promise."

"No…" Changing her mind, her hands reached for his and squeezed it. "I don't care if you won't write, just promise me that you'll take care, you hear?"

The hard look on her face reminded him of the time when Quatre came to the circus while he had amnesia. He was afraid of her then… of that hard look, but now, he's so pleased to see it. The corner of his lips turned up and his eyes softened. "I promise that, too."

"Well…" Cathy breathed in deeply before she brushed her tears away with the back of her hand. "Let's get you packed." But the moment she said that, she bit her lower lip and looked at the knapsack beside the dresser just as Trowa did the same thing. "Oh…"

He was already packed. Always ready.

Cathy's arms went around him once again, and he wished with all his might that he would only be gone for a little while… just a little while.

**…**

"You're wrong, Trowa… you don't understand." Hands secured the hood that covered her hair, enveloping her face in darkness. "You never listen." Her hands clutched the cloth tighter, the only sign of tension within. From within the shadows, her sky blue eyes darted here and there, aware of every person, of every shadow, of every thing.

Could she truly blame everything on him, though? She knew… she knew that it was also her fault. Damn her weakness. She had felt so lost without him, so dead. She loved him then… and still does now, but in a different way. 

"I wish I could tell you everything…" But now isn't the time for disclosure. 

Impatiently, she twisted her wrist and checked the time then sighed, all hope lost. "I should have known…" Her head hung, and she turned around willing her tears not to fall. 

_"Passengers for flight 102, now boarding."_

What should she do, now? Escape? How she wished it would be so easy, but the base will locate her faster than the Preventers could. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere. "I've failed." Again. What a damnable life she leads!

Someone pushed against her and her head whipped up to glare at that person but something at the far side, near the entrance of the boarding tunnel, caught her eyes. Her hood fell, spilling her long, straight strands of golden silk just as clear blue eyes connected with forest green. His face was a mask, but she didn't care because he came. He came, that was the only important thing. 

She reached him, the disbelief in her eyes showing as she uttered his name, "Trowa…" He didn't acknowledge her. He only turned around, waited for her to move then they walked together in silence towards the tunnel. "Thank you…" Midii whispered as they entered the airplane, following the stewardess. From the corner of her eyes, she watched him. He didn't say 'you're welcome', nor did he appear to have heard her words, but she didn't mind. She thanked him all the same. 

**…**

She sat by the airplane window, lovely as always… delicate as a sunflower that looked up to the sun. He felt something stir in him, an echo of his old feelings for her. Though it wasn't the same, it was still something. Was it because she's a link to his past? But… he wants to forget his past. There wasn't much to remember, anyway. His amnesia was a blessing in disguise, though it was just too bad that bits and pieces of it haunted him. 

She turned and caught his eyes, nodding her head but not saying anything.

Just as well. If she won't tell him why she needs him so much, it was fine with him. He can wait.

"Aren't you even curious about what you've gotten yourself into?" Midii asked, her head tilting in that way that he knew so much. 

"I figured you'd tell me soon enough." Trowa replied, feeling that pang of interest.

Midii nodded, not sure how to start, then she shrugged, finding the words that explained but didn't really say much. "We're going to infiltrate an organization."

Trowa's face remained unusually calm at the news- another organization. Does the Preventers know of this? If they do, Midii and he might sabotage the mission… then again, if they don't… "And you need my help because…?" 

Her eyes didn't waver, wanting him to understand. She cannot say anything yet. "Just trust me."

He hadn't expected the sound that left his throat- a grunt that was usually Wufei's trademark. He looked away from her, his fist clenching. 'Trust needs to be earned…' Save for the handful he trusted, he knew no one else that he would willingly write in that list.

Midii sighed silently. She knew she'd hurt him, but he also had hurt her. She was so lost when he left her. She had cried herself to sleep, had given up eating… had given up on life, but she didn't die. She couldn't understand why she didn't, but now she did. 

Trowa nearly cringed. He could still feel that ache she had left in his heart with that sigh.

"Trowa…" Midii bit her inner lip, unsure if she should continue, but she pushed those doubts away, knowing that she must. "I know I've hurt you but you hurt me, too. We didn't really listen to each other… that day…" Tears once again started to prick her eyes.

Trowa wanted to turn away. He didn't want to listen. He didn't want to know… but his body stayed, and he let her talk.

"That day, my heart told me that I loved you, but I was too confused." Her hand unconsciously went up to her hair to tensely tug at a strand. "I still love you, Trowa… not in that way, but in a special way… and I still trust you. I am asking from that trust." There, she finally said it. She felt so much at peace- thank the Lord!

Trowa took a deep breath as he felt an invisible hand press against his chest. He tried to turn away from the feelings she evoked and focus on his anger… tried so hard. "Why do you trust me?"

Midii shrugged, turning away from him since he wasn't looking at her anyway. "I just… I just do. You have a good heart, Trowa. You fight for peace. If you won't do this for me, then do it for the people. I need your help, and you're the only one who can do it." Her hand cupped her face as she stared at the clouds outside. "The only one…" She whispered, knowing that this was the best answer she could give.

Trowa couldn't speak. He thought he had buried this feeling for her a long time ago, but now- he chanced a glance back at her- now it was suffocating him. He couldn't think correctly. Should he? Should he help her? Should he trust her again?

…

They traveled in silence, each lost in their own thought. It didn't surprise Trowa that Midii had asked the driver to take them out of the city, that they walked into the woods far away from the lights of civilization's New India, and that she uncovered a camouflaged jeep from underneath wild bushes, meters away from the main road. 

The sun was setting, a spray of pink and orange in the sky that gloried in wonder. It was a different setting, as every continent is different. Instead of a cool breeze, the humid air clung to their skin, but it was still a pleasant sunset.

"Get in. We don't have much time." Midii ordered as she jumped into the driver's seat, and turned on the jeep in one fluid motion. 

That was when his initial surprise came. Instead of hearing the roar of an engine, he only heard a click, a sudden whirling, and then silence just as his stomach lurched and he found the jeep, hovering. He chanced a glance at Midii and saw that she bit her lower lip. Good. She's nervous. There were more things she hadn't mentioned.

"It's a hovercraft." Midii whispered in apology just as they shot forward with unnatural speed.

"I gathered as much." Trowa answered as he stared forward, noticing that they didn't go back to the main road, but instead were moving deeper into the forest.

"It was stolen technology from the government."

'I thought so.' Trowa mused, wanting to stop the car and inspect the engine. He had kept in contact with developments. Though the government had gone into great strides with various technologies- top secret or not- there had only been sparse accomplishments with hovercrafts, and the expensiveness of such also caused many disinterest from the people. Afterall, the vehicle was only a means of transportation, just like ordinary- and very cheap- cars.

In no time at all, Trowa saw the top ends of wired fences, clearly looming over the tallest trees. The vehicle was fast. He knew that the city they landed in was still a day's travel away from the guarded government project compound… then again, he's in no ordinary car.

"Hang on." Midii muttered while her right hand pushed a button where the radios would have been. It opened and a panel of switches and keyboard blinked in front of Trowa's eyes. 

He frowned as he watched Midii punch a word in the keyboard, his quick eyes following the blur of her fingers, then she flicked some of the switches. A feeling of nausea suddenly took over Trowa's body. He thought he saw the front of the jeep shimmer and he had to blink a couple of times, unable to believe what he saw. His stomach churned and the need to throw up made his suddenly sweaty fingers curl over the edge of his seat. He never experienced such a sensation before and he chanced a look at Midii again, who appeared cool and composed.

"It'll pass."

'What will?' Trowa wondered groggily. Why the sudden change that he wasn't able to control? What happened? He tried to regain control of his body, of his senses, staring ahead to show Midii that he did not know what she was talking about- that he was unaffected by whatever it was... 

The iron fence loomed in front of them, and then Trowa's fist readied for a fight as his eyes caught sight of the guards who stood by the area a meter away from the fence. Once again, he chanced a look at Midii, but she didn't even give them a glance as her right hand tapped something into the panel and Trowa's stomach was left to the ground in a sudden rush. 

A gust of wind blew the guards' caps off. Trowa saw the look of confusion, so clear on their faces, as Midii guided the hovercraft over the fence and into the other side. He looked back and saw one of the guards shrug, and that was when he knew… He should have asked what he was going to deal with before, then again, he was used to walking on a tight rope.

"They didn't see us." He phrased it in a sentence that left room for her to open up.

Midii nodded before she wiped a sweat off her forehead. "No, they didn't… It's part of the technology being perfected within the compound."

A renewed sense of anxiety flowed through Trowa. They were inside Southern India, without the government's pass. He could be quite sure that there were only limited numbers of men within the compound… so… "How are you planning to smuggle me into the compound?"

"We'll integrate. Just keep that stoic mask and that soulless look in your eyes. You'll be fine." 

_Soulless?_ It felt as though something stabbed his heart. Trowa saw Midii bite her lower lip.

"I mean-"

He shook his head, knowing that it was an indirect insult. "No need." He looked out at the dense trees, surprised that there was enough space for them to maneuver through. 

"You don't need to do anything. I'll do it myself. I just need you to…"

Trowa noticed how Midii's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"I just need you to be there…"

His instincts rang a sense of danger and he knew that she wasn't telling him everything… but like he said before, he can wait.

She drove recklessly, but he didn't mind. He liked the feel of wind against his face. They covered miles of lands in a short period of time, and then Trowa felt the craft slow down. A boulder of rock loomed in front of them, thick and solid, but Midii didn't pay any attention to it as she stopped the craft beside it.

The sound of flowing water made Trowa look around him and he noticed a stream of water, clear and shimmering underneath the crescent moon. His ears pricked as he heard Midii jump from the craft and then rummage behind him. The next thing he knew, she was beside him, dropping some clothing on his lap.

"Put these on."

He noticed that she had a bundle in her other arm before she turned away and walked into the trees. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was going to change. 

Trowa jumped out of the jeep and peeled off his shirt and jeans, methodically folding them, laying them carefully on his seat, and then he donned on the coarse black jacket and pants. It surprised him that they fit him well, as if they were made exactly for him. He was wondering how she knew his size when she appeared, carrying her jeans and shirt in a messy jumble. 

Midii looked up then stopped in mid-stride as she caught sight of him. Her breath caught in her throat, and it took an effort for her to shrug it off casually.

Trowa eyed her carefully. He had seen her reaction clearly. It was shock, surprise… and then it seemed as though she should have known whatever it was that she should have before she looked away. Yet through it all, Trowa felt a sense of pride that he had seen that jolt of appreciation in her eyes. 

"I knew they'd fit you…" Midii whispered before she grabbed a sack from the back of the jeep and then pushed her clothes in it. 

That twinge of wistfulness made Trowa want to question her, but before he could, she faced him again with her hand outstretched.

"Give me your clothes."

Trowa carefully passed his clothes to her then his eyes slanted in slight anger when she just carelessly crammed it inside the sack.

"I'll be right back." She ran into that clump of trees again, but it wasn't long before she returned. She motioned for him to go to the back of the craft just as she reached him. "We need to hide this over there." She pointed to the curtain of vines that crawled the side of the boulder and Trowa frowned.

"Do you think you could push this in there while I hold the vines?" Midii asked, not even waiting for his answer as she jogged beside the boulder, satisfying Trowa's curiosity when she grabbed the vines and pulled it towards her.

Trowa saw a crevice, large enough to hide the two-seater small jeep within. It wasn't hard to push it into the crack and in no time at all, they finished and Midii let go. The vines didn't even looked as if it were disturbed! 

"One last thing." Midii said as she walked up to Trowa. 

He stood his place as he eyed her, his anxiety returning, and then, he nearly jolted when she grabbed his left sleeve and pulled it, ripping it. She moved quickly, even tearing his pants at various sides, and then she grabbed a handful of sand and started rubbing it over his arms and legs.

"What are you doing?" 

Midii continued, grabbing another handful of sand and patting it onto his face. "It's Thursday. That's the only reason I was able to escape. We have training sessions and we need to look as if we've been through traps, but not tired."

He watched as she poured sand over her blonde hair and then started ripping her clothes, even going so far as adding holes. 

"What kind of traps?" Trowa asked cautiously while Midii tangled her hair. 

"I'll show some to you later. We need to get going. We're already late. Let's just hope they haven't sent the recovery team out, yet."

Trowa followed her quick steps between the trees when she suddenly stopped. He wondered, as he regained his balance, if she truly knew where she was going. It was only when he heard a sob from her that he followed her eyes, and that was when he saw a man, in the same uniform as their own, sprawled against the base of a tree. His eyes were opened wide, but there was no emotion in them, not of fear or anger… and with the light of the crescent moon, they saw the dark patches of blood upon his chest. 

There were vines tangled against the man's right foot and Trowa followed it with his eyes, saw how it ended into a thin rope wrapped around a machine gun that was propped against one of the branches. 

There was no doubt, this was one of the tests… booby traps was a better word for them, though. 

Midii sharply turned the other side, half walking and half running… running away from that body and Trowa couldn't blame her. 

"Your name is Tristan Brigham. Number 0874." The barrage of information came from Midii, wanting anything to keep her mind off that man. "They will always ask for your number so know it by heart. Never look at anyone in the eyes. You will always follow the commands. The head of the medical ward is Lieutenant Matthew, the head of the organization is a Mr. Blake. Sector Nine, Eleven and Fifteen is off limits-"

"Midii." Trowa could feel remorse, anger, and so much more from her. She wasn't calm and collected, and if she was correct, that a person must not show emotion inside the compound, then… she was not in the right state of mind.

"And we have drills at 0600 hours-" Midii shook her head. She cannot look at him right now. She hates dead people… God! She hates it so much.

"Midii." Trowa started once again as he saw her shoulders give a decipherable shake.

"Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner will be heralded by a bell-"

Trowa reached out for her hand, stopping her, and then the next thing he knew, she had turned around and buried her face against his chest. 

"Oh Trowa… they don't even know it… They don't even know that they were going to die… They're like puppets. Mindless. Brainwashed." 

He couldn't understand her other words, garbled by her whimpers, and Trowa felt her tears dampen his jacket. He could remember a time like this… He was the one crying, confused, and Cathy was the one who had her arms around him. Slowly, his hands curved around her shoulders and he rubbed her back. He felt sympathy for her, compassion, care…but he doesn't love her anymore… not any more.

"I'm sorry." Midii whispered before she pushed herself away and then started her trek. "Thank you, Trowa…"

Trowa stared at her retreating back, following, wondering how she was able to give him a name and a number… she must have been confident that he would help her. He was well aware of her skill with computers and programming, and if she were working in the inside, it would be easier for her to access it. 

Well… now he has another name. Tristan. It sounded nice. 

He stopped when Midii paused in front of a tree. That was when he received the second shock that night. The tree trunk opened into a panel almost similar to that of the one in the craft.

"Midii Une 0457 and Tristan Brigham 0874, reporting."

A sparkle to his left caught Trowa's attention and he faced the clearing. Slowly, his eyes widened just as the shimmering light appeared, the soft glow enough to be beautiful, but enough not to attract attention. 

Right before him, a huge compound of white walls appeared. From the corner of his eyes, he watched a change on Midii's face, as if her eyes became tired and she wasn't herself anymore. She motioned for him to follow her and he knew… he knew that once he walks through those doors, his life would change… 


	64. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 4

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Four

By Heartfire

~*~

The moment they walked inside the compound, two men surrounded Trowa, just as two women walked towards Midii. It didn't take much skill to act as though he didn't notice them. He was used to such a manner, but he still observed as one of the men held out a metal paddle in front of him, going up and down his body while the other checked the tear on his clothes.

"Go on, 874." The man with the paddle motioned to the passageway separate from Midii and he felt a moment's tension at the thought that he didn't know what to do. It was obvious that the organization was very structured, so how would he fare? 

"874! What are you doing just standing there?" A man in a hot pink robe strode towards Trowa, his hands on his hips. 

Trowa noticed that though his voice was haughty, and irritating, his eyes held that of concern. 

"Quentin, are you sure he's okay?" 

"The scans indicates that he doesn't have any internal and external wounds, Dr. Matthew."  The man who held the electronic paddle in front of him answered, pushing back his wild brown hair. 

"Jessie, he must be a little shocked." 

Someone behind Trowa interjected. A quiet voice that Trowa was sure hadn't come from one of the medics who helped him. It was odd… he couldn't distinguish if it were a man or a woman who spoke. The voice was too soft and whispery… as if the person was trying to hide.

Dark brown eyes roved over him from the man called Dr. Jessie Matthew and Trowa thought that if he but lingers on a certain part of his anatomy-

"Name?" Jessie asked as he flipped through a wad of papers against the wall.

"Tristan Brigham." Trowa answered in a monotone, still staring at the pristine wall in front of him.

"Number?"

"0874." Trowa suddenly felt a chill. What other questions will they ask him?

"Room?"

'Damn.' He didn't know that one. Midii… 

"874, what's you're room number?"

Trowa didn't answer. They've caught him. He could already feel the hair at the back of his neck rise as he tensed for a fight.

"C'mon, this is just basic stuff!" Jessie grumbled in frustration before he pushed a hand through his disheveled black hair. 

Trowa felt his irritation heightened at that jarring voice and just as he was ready to escape, Jessie heaved a sigh and focused understanding eyes on him. 

"You must have hit your head hard out there. Take a shower and go into your room- Level 4, number 65. Wait for the dinner bell. Don't worry about your report, I'll do it myself."

Trowa felt a sense of awe before his feet started to move down the hallway where Midii was slowly walking.

"I'll make the report, Jessie… You need rest."

That soft voice reached his ears again. He was curious to know whom it was coming from. It reminded him of an interesting music. Trowa repeated the voice in his mind and now noticed that it was an octave lower. He saw a mirror by the ceiling, facing them and he could be quite sure that it has a camera behind it… but with the mirror…

He narrowed his eyes and then he saw him. A teenage boy with a cap covering half his face, talking to Jessie Matthew. A little boy who had glasses too big for his face, and clothes too big for his skinny body… a little boy who looked lost. 

"Okay. Thanks, Onie." Jessie answered as he tweaked the boy's cap.

Trowa felt a sharp sense of… understanding and now, he knew why he was curious of that voice- of Onie's voice. He heard the unspoken message that he understood so well. Kindred souls.

"I'm sorry." 

Midii's whisper brought him back to the present and he noticed that she was still staring straight ahead.

"I forgot about that one."

Her whispered words, and how she was trying so hard not to show her lips moved made Trowa realized that everything around here was monitored. Something nagged at the back of his mind. 

_They're like puppets. Mindless. Brainwashed. _ 

At that moment, another man in the same uniform appeared in front of them and Trowa caught sight of his eyes. Soulless gray eyes. A shiver ran up his spine as he understood. Everyone here was brainwashed.

"Your room is to the left, mine's to the right. I'll see you at dinner." Midii whispered.

Trowa blinked and he saw the fork on the hallway just as Midii turned and left him. He bit down on the sarcasm that he wanted to say… Guess he'll have to find his room on his own.  'You still have a lot to explain, Midii.' 

**…**

Trowa gripped the corner of the plush pillow under his head. He wasn't able to have a chance to talk with Midii. The whole lunch area was quiet save for the clinks of metal against ceramic. 

The food was delicious, but he didn't have time to enjoy it, so intent he was to observe the people around him. It was curious. There seemed to be a group that wasn't brainwashed, mostly the medics, while those who were brainwashed didn't really act the way he had expected them to. Their eyes held the same look, as though drugged, or soulless, or in a dreamlike state, but they still asked for second servings, and even thanked the cooks. 

Mentally, he became aware of a music that filtered through the air. Classical. Good. Just like the food, just like the practical room… Everything here suited basic needs, and some, more so. Whoever is in charge is definitely keeping his men comfortable.

His thoughts went back to Midii. She said that he had the same look in his eyes… Was that true- 

His eyes snapped to his door as it suddenly opened. The dim light from the hallway outside spilled onto his small one-bed room before Midii's figure rushed inside and grabbed his arm, pulling him up.

"Trowa, wake up! Come on!"

Trowa grunted before he sat up, pulling his hand away from Midii. Before he could ask her what's wrong, she grabbed his arm again in a viselike grip.

"I have to get you out of here. Now!"

This time, Trowa let her pull him up. Thankfully, the compound supplied practical nightclothes and he ran alongside her. Their clothes were the same. Uniformity was a clear theme within these walls.

"What's wrong?" Trowa asked as he pulled away from her grip, still following her.

"I can't let you stay in that room." 

The hallway became a blur as he followed her. Usually, he could go back where he started even though if it was his first time in a place, but he knew that this time around, he was going to need Midii's help to get back to his room. 

"Why?" Trowa asked just as he skidded to a halt when Midii suddenly stopped. He was starting to get irritated with that habit.

Midii looked at him before she pressed the button on the wall. "I'll tell you later." Then she pushed him. 

Not expecting her to do that, Trowa lost his balance and stumbled inside. When he turned around, catching himself before he fell face down on the floor, he saw Midii starting to close the door.

"I'll be back for you."

Then she was gone.

Trowa's eyes slanted in rage, rage for that woman on the other side of the door. It wasn't his nature to curse, but how he wished he'd just let go and yell bloody murder. He wanted to go outside and demand an explanation, but his instincts were telling him that she was probably not outside anymore, and she wouldn't be doing this if she didn't think that he would come to harm…

Mentally muttering a curse in another language, he realized that she had gotten under his skin. He usually has a tight control on his anger, but today, more than once, it nearly lashed out before he could control it. 

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he willed for his body to relax. He smelled the heady fragrance of leaves and flowers and slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a huge garden. 

The walls and ceilings were made of glass, save for the one with the door. The perfect crescent moon above gave Trowa ample light to find his way. He noticed that this garden was well taken care of. The landscaping was beautiful. He stopped and found himself listening to that familiar sound of trickling water. He followed it to an indoor waterfall, set at the far right side of the wall. Limestone framed the small pool of water at the base of the obviously man made waterfall except for about two feet of space where the water flowed freely then it coiled through the garden like a miniature river.

It was peaceful. The sky above showed through the glass, the trickling water, the flowers abloom… Nature within a room. 

His eyes traveled, wanting to explore, curious as to who takes care of this place and the purpose of this structure within a strictly organized compound. He stopped when he caught sight of a table full of tubes. 

A disturbing feeling coursed through him and he tried to shake it off. He shouldn't feel this way. If the person was a botanist, of course he or she would be experimenting with different chemicals to help enhance the plants… but a nagging feeling kept nipping at his toes as he eyed those chemicals.

They weren't labeled. One could only surmise that the person who owns this room was confident enough to not take the precaution of labeling the tubes. Trowa slowly turned around, noticing the smock that hung by a nail, a lab coat, and then a built in shower for emergency spills, and finally, a sofa that was long enough for his frame.

All the basic comforts again. Practical but comfortable. 

He neared the cream sofa, feeling the weariness begin to seep through his consciousness and he didn't try to shake the feeling that he was tired. A full show, and all these… it had been one long day.

Without another thought, Trowa settled on the sofa and then willed his body not to sleep, but to wait… wait for Midii and then ask her questions…

…         

"Fifty men died today. I could only imagine if their family are still hoping to hear from them… or not." The voice cracked, sounding tired. "I wonder what was going through their minds while their blood slowly seeped from their body… waiting for the medics to arrive, hoping that their transmitters wasn't shot."

A sigh left those lips before a hand went up to a rubber band and pulled it off thick hair. Under the shadows, black hair tumbled down to her back, long enough to graze against her buttocks. 

"Does he know what he is doing? Or has he gone mad, just sending those men out there?" Her hands balled into tight fists, then slowly released. "Every week the training program is changed… I understand what he is doing… He is teaching them to survive through instincts though their memories are nothing more but a speck of dust in a dark chamber."

She closed her eyes then looked outside. 

"Instincts are a human base that he can never erase… Hopefully it is instincts that will set them free…" She reached out and tapped a button against her wall. The soft whirring sound stopped. She took out the small compact disk from the recorder then inserted it at the slot in the back of the frame of the only photograph on her dresser, that of her mother.

She turned the photograph around and imagined her mother alive while her finger traced those high cheekbones and small chin. Her mother was beautiful, how she wished she looked more like her than just a mix.

Slowly, she looked up at her dresser mirror. She has her mother's eyes, chocolate brown set within Chinese eye-frames, though not that small. She has her mother's hair, black, but it turns into a shade of brown every time the sun or the moon's rays hit it- but she inherited her father's genes… She started growing white hair at the age of thirteen so, strands of white hair showed here and there… 

A small smile appeared on her lips as she remembered her ninnera's words. "Salt and pepper hair." How she missed her yaya…

She returned her gaze on the mirror, scrutinizing her face some more. It's quite a simple face, actually… Plain. Oval shaped, lips, two plain semi-sweet chocolate eyes, a nose that's not perfect and aside from the little – almost invisible – lump on the bridge that she received after not being careful with a basketball, it was pretty symmetrical. Although, how she wished it was more like her father's, or mother's… Now she wondered where she got her nose. 

Her musings kept her mind off that day's black news, but only for a little while, and then her eyes slowly showed the sadness that was threatening to drive her insane… 

'Insane…' She chuckled as she remembered that one episode that happened a few days earlier… she had another one of her bout depressions, and suicidal attempt. 

With a sigh, she walked back to her practical bed, burrowing within her blankets and hugging her plush pillow. When she didn't fall asleep quite as quickly as she had expected, she promised to herself to work twice as hard the next day. She closed her eyes and focused on that thin strand of hope. 

"Please… Please let this be over soon." 

**…**

Trowa couldn't stop the low growl that sounded very much like an angry, caged lion's threat just as the door closed in front of him. She had done it again. How she managed it, he could only blame on her skill. The whole day, she eluded him, then tonight, she came into his room and did the same thing as the night before. The only difference was her greeting- 'I'll explain soon.'

Well… She better explain soon enough. He was tired, angry, and irritated… and it was very unusual for the latter two to happen when it comes to him. He waited until the first rays of sunlight hit the roof of the glasshouse when she came back, motioned for him to be quiet, and nimbly led the way back to his room. When he grabbed her arm to ask her what was happening, she just shook his hand off and said- 'Not right now.'

Dammit! He should have asked for the details from the very beginning! He was attracting too much unwanted attention. He didn't know which wing to go to after that _Dr. Jessie Matthew_ gave him an order, nor did he knew which locker was his for the indoor weapons training!

He knew those weird glances that was sent his way, but '_Onie'_ saved him from it again and again… Reminding 'Jessie', in a low whisper, about the possibility of confusion due to a hit on the head from the outdoor training, and then checking where his locker was located, even going so far as showing him the locker. But what really surprised him was… what _he_ said. 

Trowa ambled slowly towards the cream sofa, aglow with moonlight and seemingly beckoning for him to sit on its lonely cushions while he remembered…

With his head angled downwards, his cap secure, Onie said- "_Take care handling…"_ he broke off, bit on his lower lip then shook his head. _"I don't even know why I'm saying this… it isn't in your program, and you don't even understand the meaning of the word 'care'… I'm sorry…"_

He dropped on the sofa, his head angling backward, against the top of the backrest and he let the soft cushions envelop him. Maybe he should say, the_ way_ Onie had said it- full of sympathy and anger… anger directed at this project.

The kid needed a friend. He knew how that feels, and Jessie was too- what was that word Duo used to say? Ah yes, flaky. Jessie wasn't fit to be the kid's friend. He could remember when he was Onie's age. A loner. He always was… until lately, and then he knew how much he hungered for people. At Onie's young age, the child was more than hungry. He was famished. Craving. That's probably why Onie's always around the medics and Jessie. But the med team was always busy and they couldn't give as much attention as he deserves.

"Poor kid…" Trowa sighed and wondered where Onie's family was. Are they even alive? He gave up on his. He'd like to know… but what was there to know from a blank slate? Nothing. What he should be worrying about was how could he send word to Cathy? 

One thing's for certain… Midii can't hide forever.

With that thought clear and heavy in his mind, Trowa crossed his arms over his chest and waited until the blonde with the angel's face and a devil's heart appear to drag him back to his quarters.

**…**

Trowa flexed his hands open and close over the hilt of his gun. He was more than furious right now. For four days, Midii hadn't given any explanation whatsoever, even when he stayed inside his room stubbornly, not complying to her pleas and tugs, and only following when her eyes welled up with tears and she had said- _'I can't lose now… not when it's so near… please Trowa… just understand. This is for your own good. I promise I'll explain…'_

He hadn't slept either, and he could feel the weariness in his body. The one good thing out of all this was that he was beginning to look like the zombies around here, his eyes too glazed and dull from exhaustion of not sleeping, of traveling, of worrying. 

Trowa looked around, checking the room numbers to make sure that he was in the right place. At least, Midii was able to draft him some floor plans that he was able to study while he waited for her to show up during those four nights. Studying the compound's sections gave him an anchored feeling, and now, he also knew where the indoor garden was. Midii only need to show up at his room, tell him it's time, and he could walk with his eyes closed towards that safe haven. She also gave him a schedule, but if he doesn't find that blasted room soon, he's going to-

"Ah! Number 874. How wonderful of you to join us!"

Trowa stopped the cringe at the jarring sound of Jessie's 'oh so happy' voice. Can't the man tune his voice down a bit? The people around him must either be deaf, or half brainwashed to withstand that voice.

"Come on now, you're almost late." Jessie motioned for Trowa to enter the pristine steel and glass lined work out room. There were treadmills lined in one long hallway, all but one was being used, while other sorts of exercise machinery lined the other. 

"Take off your shirt and let's get you started." Jessie's chirpy voice commanded as he walked in front of Trowa, head bent down on the checklist.

Trowa complied, first taking his outer top, then his shirt. By the time Jessie stopped next to the unoccupied treadmill, Trowa had the shirts hanging by one arm and was wondering what was going to happen next. 

The two assistants who checked him up when he entered the complex for the first time stopped beside him, holding out some cords and pads. 

"Okay, Quentin. Put them on." Jessie ordered, still not looking up from the checklist.

The shorter man with a balding head and thick glasses nodded. "Yes sir." 

Trowa forced his body to stay relaxed while the two assistants pressed the two pads against his chest, one just over his heart and the second on the other side.

"Thirty minutes." Jessie ordered before he turned away and faced the person running on the treadmill to his right. "Good, 341. Doing good."

Trowa kept his eyes on a spot just above Quentin's head while the man ushered him onto the treadmill as though he was a child, and then did the set ups. In a few more seconds, the workout started. The slow walk turned to a fast pace that became a run. 

He didn't mind. He was used to physical workouts, and he kept his body in shape.

"Hey there! Come to see your favorite?"

Trowa frowned at Jessie's greeting. He couldn't see what was happening behind him, he could only make out some odd shapes against the sterling wall in front of him. And he was quite sure that if he turned around, they'd know that he isn't brainwashed.

"Oh come on… He's not around. They're not around. Talk to me."

Jessie's voice was coaxing and Trowa felt his frown deepen some more. Whoever Jessie was talking to-

"May I… hear him?"

The voice was soft and unsure… wistful, and nice. It caught Trowa's attention.

"You know that you can. I'll just turn up the volume for you."

Trowa suddenly saw Jessie in front of him, twisting a knob on the panel in front. Slowly, the steady sound of heartbeat flowed within the room… It only took Trowa a few seconds to realize that it was _his_ heartbeat.

"Nice, huh?" Jessie asked, going back to the same position he was before, behind Trowa.

"Yes… it is. I can listen to this all day."

Trowa felt himself strain to hear the words, and with those last few words from her, he felt a sense of pride flow through his veins. Nobody had ever complimented him for his heartbeat before.

"You know, you're weird." 

Trowa frowned again at Jessie's callous words, but soft laughter mingled with his heartbeat instead of hurt words. 

"Yes, I know."

"I just don't understand why you like listening to his heartbeat. It's so weird. I mean, okay, he's got the best, healthiest, steadiest heartbeat, but so what?"

"He has the perfect heartbeat, Jessie, not just the best."

Another warm sense of pride enveloped Trowa at the compliment and he wished that the person would walk to his side so he may see the owner of the voice.

"When I listen to his heart, I close my eyes and listen to mine. They're human, just like us. They're people with feelings, but we stripped them of that… and the only one that reminds us that they were once like us, is their heartbeat."

He could sense desperation, a bit of frustration, but most of all, he sensed sadness. She's like Onie… they both would rather walk on the other side of the road, yet they cannot. At least, though they knew that the people around them were brainwashed, they're still aware that they are human.

Trowa stared at the image beside the fuzzy hot pink lab coat that was the signature coat of Dr. Jessie Matthew. He tried to make out the shape- anything- but the image against the steel wall was too blurry.

The conversation had stopped though Trowa wished they hadn't. His curiosity was aroused by the soft spoken woman with sympathy for the brainwashed and he hoped that once his exercise was finished, he will turn around and find her behind him. There was just something about that voice that caught at him.

He was also forgetting something… What? 

His mind relayed the soft conversations, and finally, he figured it out. The way they talked… it was as if they've heard his heartbeat before! How could they when this was the first time he's been to this room?! What could it-

"You're finished." 

Trowa nearly lost his balance when that hot pink lab coated doctor appeared beside him.

"My, my… you really are the perfect specimen… You're not even breathing hard after that run, and your heart rate is normal." Jessie complimented as he jotted down the record that showed on 874's monitor.

Trowa stood still while the two assistants took out the pads and handed him back his clothes. He almost could not wait to turn and look at the owner of the voice. Silently, he goaded the men around him to hurry it up and let him go.

"It's going to be lunchtime in ten more minutes. Go on ahead to the cafeteria." Jessie ordered as he turned away from his latest patient to walk back to the desk at the far side of the room. 

Trowa looked around him. Half of the men were already filing out the door while the other half were being checked by Jessie and his assistants.  He looked to his other side and only found empty gym bars… Where was the owner of that voice? 

She was nowhere. Disappointment trickled through him, but like before when he felt this way, he reigned in his emotion, held his head high, and blocked the voice from his mind. 

He was focusing so much on… _focusing_ that- a weight plowed against him. He caught himself, regaining his balance while the person in front of him fell down on the floor. He looked down, trying to force any emotion from his eyes and found himself staring at a grimacing-in-pain face.

Onie.

"Dear me! Onie! Are you all right?" 

In a flurry of hot pink labcoat, Jessie came between them, grabbing the thick book that was sprawled beside the young man.

'_Herbs of Life_.' Trowa noted, not knowing what he should do. What's going to happen now? Will he get punished? He noted how Onie pressed his hands against his lower back, swallowing convulsively.

"That's okay… don't talk yet. I saw that fall. Pretty hard." Jessie whispered, his voice taking on a concerned tone. "Next time, don't read while you're walking. I've told you that countless of times."

Trowa saw Onie nod, wrinkling his nose in the process, then he looked up at him… straight into his eyes… and smiled waveringly. 

Jessie looked behind him and gave him the same smile- that of a parent telling a child that it was all right. "Go on to the cafeteria. You didn't do anything wrong." 

Trowa gave a quick nod, tilted his head away from the scene- though he wished he could help- then started to walk.

"That's never happened before…" 

Trowa heard Onie whisper in that low, seemingly frightened voice, and he felt a stare on his back.

"I know…" Jessie answered. "They usually make way for you."

He knew Onie said something else, but he couldn't make it out any longer. He was far away from them now, but what they said made him wary. He should be careful… More than he thought he should be.

**…**

The 33rd sector was as neat and orderly as the indoor garden- S74. The trees were perfectly lined but in such a way that looked as if nature herself did it. Flowers of all variety lined around them, and ivy runners were even delicately interwoven around its branches. If he weren't so tired, he would feel perfectly at ease. Forests and fields had been his home, and he never did care for non-spacious places. He supposed it was because he never really had a home, and because he spent almost his entire life in camp outs. 

It was precisely a week since he got here. Two days since he made Onie fall. Since then, he observed how the others act around the teen. They looked as if they respected him in a way- they respected Jessie, too. Which was funny since- how could a brainwashed person respect someone? And yet, they do stop and stay out of Onie's way when they see him coming with a book in hand- something the child always do. Someone even offered to carry Onie's tray of food from the cafeteria! Every brainwashed person were all acting like normal humans, save for the fact that they were silent most of the time and that their eyes were dull.

Their actions were questionable. It was obvious that they went through a complete re-programming, but old studies show that if it was a total brainwash, the effects were incoherent words, no primal instincts such as eating or walking unless given a command, and so much more that it was obvious they weren't normal. Yet these people… Well, he doesn't have any answers yet, but he was sure he'd find them.

Midii still hasn't said anything and was still forcing him to go to the indoor garden. Sometimes, he wonders when she'll let him sleep. Then _that_ voice… he heard that voice two more times since that day in the gym… but he still hadn't caught sight of the owner of the voice. He was tired and he knew he was forcing his limit. He must get some sleep soon… but who knows when someone might accidentally go into the indoor garden during the night? Seven days without sleep… He was so tired. 

Trowa stifled a yawn when a weak chirp caught his ears. He frowned and listened. Sensing that no one was around, he tilted his head, perking his ears. 

There it was again.

No mistake, the bird needs help. He looked around again. Once certain that no one was there to see him, he slowly walked towards the sound, making sure that he looked as if just patrolling. The trees gave him enough covering from the complex entrance at the far right side of the garden, and he peered through the thick bushes of wild flowers, concentrating on finding where the bird was. 

He never could resist an animal in need.

Trowa pushed an arm's length of leaves from the ground, and there it was, a small brown bird on its back, with its wing in an angle to show that it was obviously broken. It cast him panicked eyes and Trowa instantly whispered a soothing sound.

"Shhh… It's all right… I won't hurt you…" Slowly, he reached out, letting the bird know what his intentions were. He smoothed the feathers on its head, gently gliding his fingers underneath the fragile body, and finally lifting it up, cradling it in his palm. 

He thought of the small patch of cement near the complex entrance, surrounded by bushes, and he knew that it was a perfect place to secure this little bird. After all, it cannot survive without hunting for food, and if its wing was broken, it cannot possibly hunt. 

Trowa half turned, then stopped. Frozen. Immobile, just like that person a few feet away from him was.

Onie. 

He saw, and with the way his brown eyes were wide and stunned under that cap, he could tell that what he did was something that a brainwashed soldier wouldn't do. Was it over, then? Was he found? 

The pot of thorny cactus in Onie's hands wavered while Trowa kept his eyes blank. Slowly, Onie's head shook left to right, unable to believe what he saw. 

'Well… there's no use hiding it now…' Trowa thought as he took a step forward, instantly making Onie step back. Fear clouded the teen's eyes now and Trowa felt saddened that it was him that caused that fear.

"S-s-stay away…" 

Onie's voice barely made it through his lips, and Trowa didn't even hear it, but he read the teen's lips. Not listening, Trowa took another step. 

The young man promptly turned around, but he snagged his feet into the too large pants, and fell down flat on the grass. The cactus rolled away from him. This time, the groan of pain reached Trowa. He was closer now. Onie twisted on the ground, stared at him and scooted backwards, using his arms and hands. The teen looked behind him, his attention drawn to the cactus and Trowa could only watch as Onie grabbed for it and held it in front like a sword while brown eyes tightly closed shut. 

"S-s-stay away!" His voice became high pitched, hysterical, and broken. "Th-th-this is poisonous!"

Trowa looked at the plant, his right eyebrow rising. Poisonous or not, how does this boy expect to defend himself with a plant? The sight would have been funny… if it wasn't such a tense situation. Trowa looked down at the brown-feathered bird and gave it a reassuring touch. Then, he kneeled down and gently deposited the animal on the ground.

"Take care of it." 

Another weak chirp left the bird, accentuating its need. Then Trowa turned away and walked back to his position- guarding his sector. Maybe… just maybe, he could turn this situation around if he goes back to a dull-eyed soldier. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Onie crawl to the bird, scoop it, and then look at him… look at him for the longest time before he turned and walked to the other door at the far end of the outdoor garden. 

Trowa let out a sigh. He knew that Onie would take care of the bird. He sensed it. Yet, why that sadness that burdened his heart? Trowa sneaked a look at the door Onie had entered then bit his inner lip. Stupid, idiotic of him, but… he had wanted to befriend that little boy… Onie reminded him so much of himself. Subdued, and caught in a place he couldn't seem to escape. 

Well… he blew it. The question was… how badly?

…

'It couldn't be… could it?' The question came and went for the hundredth time. Number 874, Tristan Brigham, had shown more humanitarian actions than any. Did this small bird- Onie smiled down at the bird- possibly have triggered something in his past? Could it have been just a lapse, or could it be possible that…? 

He was found sleep walking that one time after… And he's been scatterbrained lately…

Could it be that all that hard work finally paid off? Tonight… Maybe something might come to light tonight.

**…**

The door closed with Midii on the other side, and Trowa inside the room. He closed his eyes, tired and angry at the same time. Why was she doing this, anyway? He turned, pushing his weight back against the door then breathed in the smell of nature- of green leaves and full bloom flowers. He wished he could just get lost in this garden.

He looked up at the night sky, lit with those beautiful diamond-like stars and thought of space. When will he stop feeling so lost? Ah well… there is nothing to do for now but ride the tide. Wearily, he opened his eyes, though he wished he could keep them closed. When he saw that the corners of his vision was blurred, he knew he was beyond the brink of exhaustion, but he must stay awake… there's no telling if anyone would-

The door from the other side of the garden suddenly swished open. Trowa jerked, snapping his head up to stare at the shadowed figure with the bright light from behind.

He must hide.

With his thoughts muddled, Trowa unthinkingly stepped back. His foot got caught on something, making him lose his balance. One word left his lips- "Ungh!" Then his head collided against something hard. Pain sliced through him and with it, the swirling feeling of blacking out. Too exhausted to fight against it, Trowa let the darkness envelop him with one last thought- 'Idiot.'

**…**

She heard the sound, unmistakably human, and she quickly grabbed the nearest weapon she could find- a long hoe. Her eyes glittered dangerously, turning into slits as she walked gently into the heart of her garden.

Someone had invaded her sanctuary. It only happened once before, and that was only because one of her test subjects was sleepwalking after she injected him. Nobody enters this room without her permission. This was the only place she considered hers. This place was her own, a place where she could be herself. No one will take that away.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" 

She didn't know where that burst of courage that flared within her came from, but she knew that if the person was an intruder, she would fight tooth and nail against that person no matter how scared she was. No one answered, not that she expected them to. Maybe she should have turned on the lights, but she knew this place like the back of her hand and thought she'd use the darkness to her advantage. 

She moved within the shadows, slowly and gently as the wind that caressed the trees outside the glass windows. She neared the other entrance, the one forced upon her to be the fire exit when something caught her foot and she fell. 

'What-?' There isn't supposed to be anything in her path! She quickly turned and her eyes fell on him… Concern rushed through her as she kneeled beside him and touched his neck for a pulse. Then a sigh of relief left her and she smiled while she turned him to lie on his back. "Oh, Tristan… Sleepwalking again?" 

She pushed a leaf away from his face, nodding as soft light illuminated his face, and then her fingers propped his eyes to check on his iris. She checked the other. Satisfied, she nodded her head. "You have been definitely sleep walking… I wonder why you always choose my garden, though…" She let her hand trace his beautiful face, an action she had never let herself do before. 

"Is there something in here that reminds you of your past?" A sad smile curved her lips. "Don't worry. I'll help you remember it. I won't fail you, or the others. I promised." She closed her eyes and remembered those frightened faces before the process of brainwashing began. "I promised."

She stood up, remembering her records. "Maybe my serum does have an effect on you…" Tristan _had_ been acting strange recently. She reached her table then pushed a hidden button under her first drawer. "Maybe if I give you a higher dosage…" 

A portion of the wall behind the desk slid open, revealing a panel of test tubes. Methodically, she took the last sample from the topmost row. She stepped back then pushed the button again, closing the secret door while she grabbed a syringe from inside the desk. She walked back to Tristan while she worked on the syringe. When she reached him, she knelt on the same place she had before. 

She paused when his eyes fluttered, a glazed look in them while they stared at her. "Shh… Don't worry. I'm here to help." She let her hand gently press against his lids, closing his eyes, waiting until she was sure he was back asleep. 

"This won't hurt at all." She pressed the needle into his skin, hopeful… There wasn't much she could do but to wait. Wait until the signs. With another sigh, she walked back to her desk, turned on her computer and typed in a code. A few seconds later, the screen flickered and a rumpled, sleepy eyed Jessie answered with a yawn.

"Whaaat? Can't I get my beauty sleep anymore?"

She smiled softly. "I'm sorry, Jessie, but I wouldn't be calling if I didn't need you, now would I…?"

**…**

_Burning_… He was burning. He couldn't breathe… His skin feels hot- too hot. He screamed a name. A name he couldn't remember… something bit into his skin. Urgent. It was all red. Red.

No! Darkness… 

Machine guns roared in the background. 

Turn away… Leave…

Run! 

_'Someone! Help me!'_ He curled on the ground, protecting his neck and wishing he were somewhere else. Something touched his shoulder, making him look up. It was dark but he could make out the shape of… soft eyes…

Don't worry. I'm here to help… 

Trowa gasped, sitting up on the bed, blankets askew. He was breathing hard. He never had such a dream before. He looked down at his hands- they were trembling. He was in shock… What was that about? Wait…

He looked around the dimly lit room. It wasn't his. And… wasn't he supposed to be in the garden? "Where… am I?"

A sound caught his ears. He stared dumbly at the knob and then the pink lab coated doctor came in with Onie in tow. 

"Ah, he's finally awake."

Trowa stared at them dully, half his mind still reeling from that dream. He looked from Jessie to Onie who were both staring at him as though they were expecting something, and then Jessie moved.

Trowa forced his body to stay while Jessie picked his wrist. 

"His heart rate is high." Stupefied eyes glanced at the young man by the door. "Onie… it looks like he just had a dream!" 

The smile that lit Onie's face was the happiest Trowa has ever seen on him and then Jessie broke his vision with a flashlight nearly poking his left eye- then his right. It took quite an effort not to jerk away.

"But… He still looks the same though…"

Trowa glanced back at Onie and saw how his smile slipped. 

"Okay, 874. Let's brief you on what's been going on. You've been asleep for two and a half days. We've created all the possible excuses we could make, and now, we need you back out there before Mr. Blake figures out that he was being lied to." Jessie brought out a small, thin cylinder from his pocket and Trowa shifted his attention from the fact that he was out for nearly three days, to the thing Jessie was holding. Suspicion rose in him. 

"Oh, Quentin, I need you in here." Jessie ordered in a singsong voice into the black, pen-like contraption.

In less than a minute, the balding man appeared by the door. "Yes sir?"

"Help this _gorgeous_ man outta here." 

Trowa nearly cringed at the hinting voice that Jessie used. Damn. He really should get used to that doctor or else he'd lose control and punch his lights out. He watched as Jessie herded Onie out of the room, straining to hear their conversation.

"It isn't normal, but he did it. His eyes, heart rate, and body language say so…" Trowa heard Jessie whisper to Onie before the door closed, leaving him with the silent man.

His dream had jarred him, but there was something else… Those last few words he thought he heard… it was from that voice in the gym… He could be sure of it. Why was she in his dream? He couldn't remember her face. 

Goddammit! His life just became more complicated than he expected. Great! Wonderful. What perfect timing. Just perfect. Why couldn't he be just left alone?

**…**

He waited until she came… until his door swished open and she stood against the light from the hallway outside. Trowa stood up from his bed, not even giving her a look. "Shall we go?"

Midii bit her lower lip, wondering what had happened to him these past few days. "No… There's no need."

This time, Trowa looked up, catching her blue eyes. "No need?"

Midii couldn't look at him, angling her head instead. "May I… May I come in?"

"You never asked before." Trowa answered while his right brow shot up. 

She walked inside and his door hissed to a close. "I'm sorry. We were pressed for time. I had to get you out of this room. I couldn't risk it."

"So…" Trowa started, sitting back down on his bed. "Since there's no need, and yet you're still here, am I to assume that you're about to tell me something?"

Midii nodded, still staring at the floor. "I can only tell you some-"

"It will, at least, shed light to my path." Trowa cut her, making sure that this wouldn't be easy for her. He could tell that she was curious about where he had been, but he will not answer if she even asked. 

A sigh left her and she figured that there was no other way but to begin. He didn't look as if he was brainwashed, so wherever he was during the past few days, she could only hope it was somewhere safe. "It was the music. It comes every third week of the month."

Trowa frowned, remembering the classical tune that flowed from the speakers and seemingly to touch him.

"It's encrypted with a code, and I couldn't afford for you to be brainwashed with it. The music is just a safeguard from the main process, but even if you hadn't undergone the proper sequencing, I wasn't sure if the music would have any effects."

Music and brainwashing. He's heard of it before. What an old-fashioned technique. 

"The garden is the only place that's safe from it." Midii continued. "That's why…"

'Why you forced me in there.' Trowa finished in his thoughts. All right. So she was doing it for his safety. What about her? Where does she go to every night when there's music playing in the background?

Minutes passed. Midii shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and Trowa concluded that she wouldn't talk any more. She was probably waiting for him to tell her where he'd been. Of course, that fact is strictly confidential. He does have one thing to ask her… "I need to send a letter. What's the best way?"

"Oh…" Midii bit her lower lip. "Uhm… Just give it to me… I'll take care of it."

Trowa nodded. "Fine. Is that all?" 

"I… uhm… Yes…" Midii looked away. "I suppose it is."

Trowa lay down on his bed and pulled the blanket to his chest. "I need my rest." He turned away from her to face the wall, an unspoken message.

"Of course… I understand." Midii whispered, her tone apologetic.

And that was it. His door opened and closed, and he was finally left alone. Finally. 

**…**

He stayed away from the garden for as long as he could, and tried to learn just as much as he could while doing so. But, something called for him in that place, and tonight, he couldn't stay away. He sneaked out of his room, using the handmade jammer that he created during his sleepless nights. He couldn't understand why, but he has this distinct feeling that some questions might be answered… behind that door.

Trowa stood in the main entrance of the garden, his mind playing second thoughts. Something deeper told him to enter and get it over with. Just get it over with. Before he could reason with himself, he entered. 

It was the same. All of it. Why did he expect it to be different? The scents were all there, the bubbling greeting from the stream still welcomed him, and it was tranquil. Still like a picture. 

But there wasn't anything in it.

He must be missing a screw. His instinct was very off the target this time. Ah well… might as well enjoy this peaceful night. 

Trowa silently walked through the small dirt path, making his way towards the couch while he stared at his feet with his hands in his pockets. When the familiar plants ended in that sweeping curve, he knew he was in front of the couch. Yet when he looked up, he became aware that tonight was different.

He shouldn't have doubted his instincts.

He found the one thing that was unusual within the garden. _She_ was sleeping on the couch… whoever _she_ was. Curiosity overtook him and he observed her from the top of her head, to the tips of her peeking toes.

Plain face, but with the distinct impression that makes a person look at it twice. He couldn't distinguish the shape of her eyes yet. She had a small nose, and full lips within an oval shaped face. If he were a good judge of features, he would say that her best one were her lips. Her hands were pressed together in a praying position, folded underneath the right side of her face, and she was clothed in what could only be a white, silk Roman robe, complete with golden clasps on her shoulders. 

Trowa frowned, his interest perking. He'd only seen such clothing in encyclopedia's- the ones that survived eons of wars. No wonder the mythical gods mate with human women. Though they only bare shoulders and arms, the sweeps of the cloth here and there was enchanting. 

Her hair was also an asset. Straight black that was so long that it pooled at the ground in a slight wave. With the moon shining down on them, her skin looked white as moonbeams. He had this distinctive feeling he'd seen her before, but where?

A frown marred her forehead then she twisted, her hands tightening into fists while a groan left her lips. "…no…"

'Nightmare?' Trowa wondered as he took a step towards her then stopped himself. He shouldn't. Not yet. Not until she needs help.

Her eyes opened suddenly, her head tilting upwards in a gasp, and then her eyes closed and she settled back down on the couch, breathing deeply. "It's just a dream…"

Trowa blinked, forcing away the quick surprise he felt. That voice… it was _her._ He watched as she sat up with her head bent down, pushed back her hair carelessly, and then looked up straight at him. He forced himself not to show anything when she gasped in surprise, her body, tensing. 

'Still… stand still.' He mentally whispered, drawing his eyes in a blank stare until he saw her slowly relax, but her eyes still held his, and that was when realization snapped in him. She had the same features as Onie. So… The little kid has an older sister?

She let out a breath of relief then smiled at her visitor. "Tristan… sleepwalking again?"

Trowa nearly raised an eyebrow, surprised that she called him by that name and not his number. It was only hard earned control that made him check in his reaction. 

"I still wonder what you see in this garden that makes you come back." 

Unhurriedly, she stood up then walked to him. Trowa noticed her willowy grace. She looked taller than Onie, and most obviously feminine. She stopped right in front of him then held a finger before his eyes. Trowa focused on her nose when she moved her finger to the left… then to the right… He knew he shouldn't follow that hand, and it seemed to have pleased her because she nodded. 

"Don't worry. I won't lock the garden away from you. Maybe…" She tilted her head to one side, thinking. "If this place unconsciously makes you remember, maybe I should ask you to be reassigned." She half smiled, not truly reaching her eyes. "Yes… I do need an assistant every now and then… that way, maybe I could work with you to get in touch with what they've taken away." If she could at least be successful with one out of thousands, then she will be happy.

Trowa tried to follow what she said, but nobody could blame him for not understanding. He nearly jerked when she touched his hand, enveloping it in both of hers then smiling up at his face.

"Let us help each other." She whispered before she tugged him towards the couch. Trowa didn't have anything else to do but to follow. 

"Sit down, Tristan." If she used his name often enough, maybe he will get used to hearing it again. "Make yourself comfortable- or sleep if you want to." Her eyes took on a sad look before she turned away. "I need to work. I think I slept too long." Then she let him go and Trowa followed her with his eyes, back to the desk of test tubes and chemicals. 

He wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he wanted to. There were too many risks if he did sleep. He might talk out loud… be too shocked to cover his emotions… vulnerable… too many things. What was she doing, anyway? Her actions did not have any pattern- she just kept on mixing things together. Besides… What was her prerogative in helping him?

**…**

She let him out early, telling him that he shouldn't be found in the garden before she could work things out—whatever that meant. It was the middle of the day, he was patrolling the east section of the complex when he heard his number called through the speakers, telling him to go to an off limit section.

'East 56.' He's never been to this side of the complex before. He noted the cameras above, then the sensory and laser devices. High Security. What is this place? He reached the room and knocked once.

"Come in." An aged man's voice, strong but weary reached his ears and he opened the door.

He was met with a practical room. It didn't surprise him. Everything in this place was sensible. A simple desk and a high backed leather chair was positioned in the middle, the walls were bare and there was another chair of the same material right in front of the desk where _she _sat in her Roman style robes. 

"874." That was all he had to say while his eyes took in the man in the chair. He had graying hair and a strong jaw line, but a frail body… then again, looks can be deceiving. She had turned slightly around and gave him a small smile, seemingly to say- 'Don't be afraid.' Well, he wasn't afraid.

"Is this the man?" 

She turned back to the older man, giving him her full attention. "Yes sir."

"Why him? What's so special about him?" Sharp gray eyes turned back on Trowa and he felt as though he was being stripped to his core. He shook that thought clear. This man couldn't possibly do that. He doesn't know that he wasn't brainwashed.

"I had him come in before to help me plant. The ones he did, grew, while the ones the others did, died, sir."

Trowa nearly looked back at her. Was she telling the truth, or was that just a lie? Her back was tense as though ready for a fight. He could sense her determination… then he remembered her promise last night. Was she… was she doing this for him?

Deafening silence ate at them within that stifling room. Trowa found himself wishing for the man's agreement. He wouldn't mind working in the garden. It soothes him. 

"Are you sure that is all your reason?" This time, those shrewd gray eyes turned on her.

He saw her head tilt to one side and he could already imagine her frown. 

"Is there supposed to be any other reason, sir?" 

Trowa frowned inwardly. 'What is that man hinting at?' When the older man looked from her to him, Trowa suddenly understood. The man thinks that she and he are…

"He is a beautiful specimen." Those gray eyes focused on her, gauging her reaction.

Trowa didn't feel complimented at all. Rather, he felt his skin crawl.

"I agree, sir. Is that supposed to be one of my reasons? Do I have to put aesthetic beauty as well in my qualifications, instead of pure talent?"

He could feel the innocence in her answer and it seemed as though her answer pleased the older man. She didn't receive the hidden meaning in the older man's question. Maybe he should feel flattered that the man thought there could be something going on between them, but he didn't. 

The man turned to the papers on his desk and started shuffling them together, a sure sign of dismissal. "You can have him."

"Thank you, sir." She started to get up.

"Take him with you, doctor."

"Of course, sir." 

When she faced him, Trowa expected to see joy in her eyes, rather it was full of sadness.

"Let's go, 874."

The way his numbers left her lips felt cold and he followed her outside, closing the door behind him, not wanting to see that man again. They walked in silence, though he wished she would explain. She won an argument, but she wasn't victorious. It was maddening. 

They walked for quite some time before he noticed the familiar hallway and finally, they reached the garden. Her garden. When the entrance opened, he saw the tension leave her shoulders, but she was still stiff. She seemed to have forgotten him as she walked to her desk and focused on her work. 

Trowa felt like a discarded sock. What should he do? Stand idly while she worked? Well… There was no other choice.

He watched as the sky outside turned from blue to orange. She worked non-stop. Recording. Mixing. Heating. Not once did she turn around to acknowledge him. The orange glow was spurned away by the black covers of the night, and still she worked. He wished she would stop, though he understood her actions. She was angry, and this was her outlet.

Finally, hours after the first taste of darkness, she stood up from her seat, turned then stared at him as though she saw a ghost. He was right. She did forget him. 

"Tristan! Have you been standing there all this time?" She walked to him, concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry… I was angry." She took his hand in hers again, the way she did the previous night, and gently tugged him to the couch. "Come on, sit down. I'm sure your legs are aching. I need to rest, too." She rubbed her thumb and pointy finger on the bridge of her nose, showing how much she overworked herself. 

They sat down on the couch, Trowa in a straight, proper position, while she tucked her feet under her. From the corner of his eyes, he saw her look at him, eyes clouded by shadows and sweeping her long hair over her left shoulder.

"I had to lie to him. I hated it, but if I'm going to work with gaining your memory, I had to."

'So… it was a lie…' He didn't mind. He heard the anger in her words, the repentance, and then that sigh. 

"There wasn't anything I could do. I wish…" She looked away then shook her head. "No use wishing for something that will never happen, is there?"

He disagrees. There's always a chance, even if it was slim. He kept a close watch on her as she leaned against the headrest with her eyes closed. 

"Wake me up in fifteen minutes, Tristan… I have to clean up…" She gave a yawn, covered by a hand, then breathed in deeply. "Just fifteen…"

This time, Trowa turned to look at her, feeling safe with her eyes closed. Should he even wake her up? She looked as though she needs rest. What about him? 

He looked up at the moon behind the clear glass roof, half covered by the tall trees within the garden then sighed. 

It was another sleepless night.

**…**

He was staring at the sky, engrossed with the byplay of colors as the first rays of sun touched his face. Nature's splendor never ceases to amaze him… then again, it also never ceases to capture his attention so much he wasn't aware of his surroundings.

"Tristan. You didn't sleep again." 

Trowa slowly turned to look at her. She had a red mark against her cheek, morning stars on her lashes, and pale, dry lips. She looked, as any woman who just woke up should, early in the morning. This was reality, unlike those women in soap operas that Cathy loves to watch. 

She rubbed her knuckles against her eyes then looked at her messy desk. "You didn't wake me up."

Her mouth pouted and Trowa tried a conversation. After all, he observed how the other soldiers in the compound could give comments. "You looked as though you needed it, doctor." He kept his voice low and monotonous, just in case.

When her jaw dropped and her Asian eyes widened, Trowa thought he made a mistake, but then, a slow smile lit her face, a smile that reached her eyes. The first real smile he'd ever seen her give. 

"That was the first time you've talked back to me. I'm glad." She glanced back at her table and nodded. "I suppose you were right. I needed that rest." She turned to look back at him, "So do you. Now, use this couch and go to sleep. I have to clean up and work out your schedule." That said, she stood up and walked to the other door. Her figure became shadowed and a sense of déjà vu swept through Trowa… He'd seen that image before. When he fell…

The door closed behind her and he was left alone. 'Sleep?' He shook his head. 'Not likely.'

**…**

She came inside, late that afternoon, and found him wide-awake on the sofa. "You didn't sleep." She said it as an observation, her voice a bit vexed. "I don't want you to get sick, even if we do have a good doctor."

He didn't answer, observing how the silk peach Roman robe she had on complimented her light skin. Ironically enough, he felt like smiling. He didn't know why, but he supposed he was just pleased that someone aside from Cathy, someone was showering him with a bit of concern.

"Well… I don't want to force you to sleep, but I suppose that if I want you to, I am just going to have to make you work hard enough that you will." 

It really is quite interesting, the way she talked to him as though normal. 

"Rake the leaves, please, Tristan." She ordered while she grabbed a wicker basket from the side of her desk. "I have to gather supplies."

Trowa watched as she went around the garden, plucking leaves here and there, scraping barks, and cutting small roots. Finally, he stood up and walked to the rake. He might as well make himself useful. He's beginning to feel like a freeloader, something he always despised. 

By early twilight, he was perspiring and was itching to take off his wet shirt. He chanced a glance at her. She was grinding something with her mortar and pestle, her hair in a knot between her shoulders. He walked to her, stopping only a few feet from her desk. "Finished."

She stopped, looked behind her then smiled once again. 'She really should smile more often.' It makes her look better and… is that a dimple near the lower right part of her lips? Before he could take a closer look, it disappeared.

"You did a wonderful job, Tristan. How about if…" She opened the lower drawer and took out another set of grinding tools. "… you grind that pile of leaves, please. I need it to be pasty in texture."

He complied, standing beside her and following her lead. They worked in perfect harmony. The only sounds were the soft, pounding of marble against marble. She had a cactus, and two more piles of leaves left. He would bet Cathy's blades that she's aiming to finish all of them by today.

"Remind me to give you your new schedule." She muttered as she tucked back a hair with the back of her palm

Trowa nodded, showing that he heard. In a couple more hours, with a piece of paper in his hands, he let himself fall down on his bed, exhausted. 'What good, hard work could do to a man's body…' He liked it. He'd forgotten how it was like to work closely with nature- or rather, he never had a chance save when he work with the animals. 

He didn't even bother to take off his uniform as he bent his right arm under his head and let his eyes drift to sleep. One hard earned sleep.

**…**

Trowa pruned the next day, watered the next, pulled grass after that, and did other chores he never expected to do during the following ones- along with his regular exercise and occasional guard duty. He would be greeted with a nod, a kind smile, and then set to work with whatever the task was. So far, he'd been too tired to dream. It was a good thing.

Today, when he came inside after guard duty, she was waiting for him by the steps, a spade in one hand and a long handled hoe in the other. Her face turned just as bland as before, after she gave her usual kind smile. "We're going to make a vegetable garden." That was all she said before she handed the hoe to him.

She led him to a damp patch of ground at the far end of the garden, then pointed the boundaries. Once again, they worked silently. He tilled the soil then once he was done with a couple of feet, she came and planted the seeds. 

"I love the scent of freshly turned soil, don't you?" 

'Yes…' Trowa whispered to himself. He was just thinking of it. He nearly jerked in surprise when she touched his gloved hands with her own padded ones. Trowa looked at her, she was kneeling beside him, a spade in one hand and looking at the soil. 

"Here. Kneel down." 

He felt her tug and he bent his knees. He wondered what she was going to make him do when she cupped a handful of damp soil, turned to him and offered. 

"Smell it, Tristan. Does it remind you of anything?" She smelled it first then extended her hands under his nose. She watched as he took a deep breath. "It reminds me of how the earth is after it rains. Ready to create life within its warm folds…" She paused when she noticed Tristan's odd stare at the soil in her hands.

It was something she said… Rain. It never affected him like this before, but suddenly, he had a vision of running feet trampling grass. Of puddles of water… of rain... He almost couldn't breathe. 'What's happening to me?'

When she saw a sudden flash of pain, so quickly she wasn't sure she saw it, she took off her gloves then touched his cheek with her palm "Tristan…?"

He jerked. Looked at her as if he'd never seen her in his entire life, then his eyes turned dull. 

'A lapse… but progress…' One thing she couldn't help but feel was… whether she was doing him a favor by making him remember, or not? Maybe, with the way he looked hurt, she should have just let him be… 'No. Everyone deserves to know their past and accept it.' She just hoped Tristan was strong enough.

Trowa focused on a spot above her head, trying to regain the balance he lost. He nearly blew it. 'Hah…' He'd been 'nearly blowing it' since he came here. He forced his face not to show anything when she traced his right cheekbone with her fingers, then pushed back his hair. He never let anyone touch him, or be so close, except for Cathy.

"Don't worry. You're safe here. Let's get back to work." She let him go, pondering on why she wants so much to make him feel welcome, then patted his leg unconsciously, mumbling- "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Trowa stood up, following her order, but he couldn't help but stare at her back while he worked. In a mint green satin, same Roman cut, she bent over the newly tilled soil, gently turned it with the spade, pushed the seed in, and then filled the hole. She worked methodically, and so did he… yet, he couldn't help but wonder that question that had been tugging at him… Why was she so passionate to help him?


	65. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 5

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Five

By Heartfire

~*~

She gave him a cot by the other side of the garden walls, away from her 'laboratory'. He just woke up one morning in his old room, was greeted by the 'official messenger' with a verbal speech that consisted of-

_'Your quarters was reassigned. Follow me.' _

And that was it. Since the man didn't tell him to bring anything with him, he just followed him, straight into the garden room. The guard opened the door for him, stayed outside while 'the doctor' greeted him with a shy smile and warm brown eyes. 

_'I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of giving you a room in here. You won't be tripping alarms accidentally if you get another sleepwalking urge.'_

She had motioned with her head for him to follow, and he did. That was when he saw the plain cot with practical sheets and pillows, neatly folded and ready to be used.

He didn't nod, said thank you, or anything. How could he? He always had trouble showing gratitude. It took years for him to learn how to do it with Cathy, so used was he to just minding his own business. This one, her gift of giving him a space in a place where he felt most comfortable in… well… it truly gave him a sense of gratitude for her existence.

Her shy smile become more confident as she kept a steady look on his face, and that… _nice_ dimple showed once again. 

_'You like it… I don't know how I know, but you like it. I'm glad.'_

His sense of self-preservation kicked into high gear, the way it had when Cathy saw through him that first time she talked to him. There were few people who could read him, fewer than he had fingers. He does not like it at all. He prided himself for not showing much and here, she actually understood him.

She motioned towards the exotic plants around the cot with a sweep of her hand. _'Look, these birds of paradise will be your fence. This way, you'll feel that this is your area.'_

Trowa chanced a glance towards her. She was talking as if she researched the human psyche and was acting upon theories. Granted, the 'personal space' theory was correct, still… what does she hope to accomplish by taking him out here?

Well, all of that happened a couple of days ago… He was still mulling over that thought, over those recent twist of events, staring at the crescent moon high above the periphery of the glass roof when her door opened. A soft sound trailed to his ears, a sound he was familiar to- suppressed sniffling. The light was behind her, shadowing her frame, making her look as though she just emerged from the sun and then all too soon, the door closed and she was in semi-darkness. 

Trowa watched her shadowed form make way towards the sofa, seemingly crumple on it then after a few more movements, she became still. He waited for a decent time before he silently walked towards her frame, anxious to know if she was fine. With only the dim moon to light his path, he was surprised to have made it to her side without stepping on a twig. That same dim silver yellow light gave enough illumination to show him one trail of tear on her cheek. 

A single trail. Those were usually the most painful.

Nightmares. It seemed that everyone goes to the garden for respite of it, even the doctor. What does she run away from in her subconscious, though? She keeps on talking of helping him, but why can't she help herself? 

The garden cannot keep the darkness out for long. Sooner or later, it will seep through cracks and find her- and him…

Thank God his dreams hadn't plagued him since he started sleeping in here. The place had basically become his home. He sleeps, eats, and works in it, and always just with her. 

Funny… he still doesn't know her name. But he did find a 'Christy' signature, heavily imbedded on a fresh leaf of her pad paper when he was looking for something to write on and send to Cathy. He found himself calling her a 'Christy' in his mind. It was better than 'She' or 'Her', although the plain 'Doctor' was a little better than the latter two. 

She turned on the sofa. Trowa stood up. 'Good night, Christy.' He whispered in his mind before he turned away and walked to his own bed. It had been quite some time since she had slept in the garden. He'd gotten used to this place being his during the nights, but he didn't mind her visit tonight at all. Didn't mind it at all.

**…**

"Christy! Dinner's ready! Call your mother and father in." The strong voice drifted to her room where she played with the plant leaves her mother left for her, matching it with the picture book of leaves that her mother gave her during her last birthday.

_No… not again… please… once tonight was enough!_

A gurgle of laughter left small lips while she hopped on both feet then ran past her yaya's huge legs whose feet were in front of the small stove. "I'll be back!"

She ran into her mother's small garden where she usually found her parents tinkering with test tubes, and a computer. "Mommy! Daddy!" 

No answer… She looked up, her eyes catching sight of the metal sheets and over lights. 

How come I never noticed that I never saw the sky before? 

"Mommy? Daddy?" She ventured towards the edge of the garden, hesitating. She had never gone past the gardens before. It was dark… should she? She bit her lower lip.

No! Don't go! 

Her parents needs to eat… She's a big girl now. Nearly ten! She breathed in deeply then walked forth. It wasn't so bad. It was just dark. That was all. 

Turn around! 

"Mommy! Dadd-" A scream tore through her seeking shout when she stepped on a suddenly sloping sheet of metal. She fell, her head banging against something, her body rolling and bouncing off those hard metal plates. 

She didn't know how long she lay there, but eerie sounds made her open her eyes. Screams of agony and moans were around her.  A flash of unnatural green light somewhere she couldn't remember… "Ma! Pa!" She started to get scared. She shouldn't have gone beyond the garden. She moved her feet when something clawed her skin and grabbed her ankle. And then another cold hand grabbed her arm. 

'Help me!' 

'Get us out of here!' 

'Oh God!' 

'Please help us!' 

But none of them made sense to her. All she could feel were cold, clammy hands grabbing her hair, her arms, and her feet. She screamed. She twisted and pulled and screamed, hoping that someone would find her. 

_"Let me go! Let me go! Mama! Papa! No!"_

…

"Let me go! Please! I don't want to! No!" 

Her hysterical screams nearly deafened Trowa as he hugged her, stilling her lashing arms and legs in a vice-like grip. "Shhh. It's all right. Shhh." He rocked her gently, back and forth, the way he remembered Cathy did when he dreamt of the many times when he killed and found himself in a pool of blood. 

"Mommy! Daddy! Help!" 

Her anguished cries tore at his heart. What could she be dreaming that was making her act this way? What kind of parents didn't hear their child cry out for them like this? "It's all right. Shhh." He woke up from her very first scream. When he saw her thrashing her hands and arms, he knew he needed to intervene. "No one's going to hurt you…" He rubbed her back until her arms lagged. He didn't let go when she started shaking violently. Finally, she relaxed. 

Slowly, Trowa settled her back on the sofa. She looked tired, a frown on her forehead as if she was concentrating on driving away those dreams. He wouldn't be able to sleep now. Not after being awakened by that terrified scream, fit for a horror movie. 

He couldn't deny the panic that went through him, couldn't deny that he raced to be by her side. 'She's a good person,' he argued with himself. She didn't deserve her nights to be plagued by monstrosities. 

Once again, Trowa found himself sitting at the end of the sofa, near her tucked toes, and leaning back. Like a relaxed, silent sentry, he looked over the garden, but most of all, he looked after her. 

**…**

Her memory of last night's dreams was fresh in her mind when she woke up. When she felt that alien weight near her feet, she nearly jumped, but she opened her eyes and took in the situation first. It was just Tristan, his tall length stretched perpendicular to the sofa, his head lolled on the backrest with his mouth slightly parted. 

She must have cried in her sleep, and he must have heard her and went to her to help. She might be jumping to conclusions, but if she was correct, then he must be unconsciously regaining his humane side. But… with the dreams still fresh in her mind, she wondered again if she was being fair.

Slowly, she got up, taking pains not to wake him, picked up her chair and settled it in front of him to observe. He was most definitely a beautiful specimen. Jessie was correct about that. How come she never noticed before?

Compare his smooth skin, oval shaped face that was more tapered by the chin, giving him a more feminine- yet distinct- structure against the other men within the compound, and she would still say he has the most arresting face. Those firm lips that seemed too tense when he's conscious were now relaxed, and that thick hair still fell over half his face. 

She could relate to that as she tucked back a lock of hair that irritated her behind her ear, only to have it spring back on her face. 'Hopeless.' She cut it once, when she was younger, but it just grew like a thorn on a smooth cactus leaf. She had to endure quite a few long months with a lock of hair sticking out of her head, just to have it long enough to tuck back behind her ear again. 

'Tristan… Am I being fair?' She searched his face. It was strange that she feels so at ease with him. The only other person she was comfortable with was Jessie, but that was probably because he was not a conventional man… and Tristan was most certainly not a normal man. 

He slowly became conscious of a feeling- that of being scrutinized. He opened his eyes and found her, sitting at the edge of her lab chair, right in front of him, her face cupped in her hands. He couldn't decipher what was in her eyes, too guarded. 

"Good morning, Tristan." Men shouldn't have eyes as beautiful as those… She found herself staring then-

"Good morning, Doctor." He kept his body rigid, cautious. She never greets him like this, in such a formal tone. Usually, her voice was soft, yielding.

She quickly looked down at her hands, feeling guilty. Quickly erasing her most recent thoughts about his eyes, she contemplated whether or not… Fudge and brownies! Why does she feel so guilty when she was just trying to help? Probably because she wasn't giving him any choice? Then again, he wasn't given a choice when his memory was taken away! "I believe… no…" She shook her head before she continued. "I know I made a mistake."

Trowa mentally frowned. "What is the mistake, doctor?" She didn't answer. In fact, she bit her lower lip. For the past few weeks- months- that he'd worked for her, he knew this as a sure sign of worry. 

She stood up from her chair then faced that new, brightly shining sun. He deserved to know the truth. She took away his – what was it that the Americans termed it long ago? Personal rights? Whatever it was, it was not helping her muddled thoughts. "Maybe I should never have given you that serum that day..." She gave a frustrated sigh before she walked away from him, back where she came from late last night, but this time, with no blinding light in the background.

Something she said made his imagination run a-skitter. She gave him a serum? When? He doesn't remembered her offering him anything to eat or drink that didn't came from the assigned platoon servers who came daily with their food. He doesn't remember her ever sticking a needle into his skin.

'Midii…' Her all too innocent face swam in his mind. She would know. Know it and _will _tell it. He felt a rush of anger through his veins. Impatient anger. She will tell him. 'Or so help me…' His hands shook as he pushed back his bangs, only to have it return in the same place. He's given her enough time. One good thing that came out of being reassigned to the garden- Midii constantly kept him updated on her schedule, and he knew exactly where she was.

**…**

"Who is Tristan Brigham?" 

Midii gasped as she turned around from a half march and nearly collided against Trowa's chest. "Wha-" She nearly grew cross-eyed as she stared at his black shirt buttons, trying to grasp her wits about her. "What?"

"Tristan Brigham. Who is he?" Trowa asked once again, trying to keep his anger from showing.

A startled laugh left Midii's lips as she tilted her chin up and gave him a wary look. "Why, you! Who else?" When Trowa's eyes slanted slightly, her survival instincts kicked in, making her take a step back. It was the wrong move, even though it was unconsciously made. 

Trowa's hand grabbed her upper arm faster than a snake about to bite. Midii cringed but he didn't loosen his hold. He knew she could fight. He knew she had used her feminine wiles before and gotten her way. "Tell me."

"Trowa! Let go! The surveillance cameras will see!" It was a weak excuse, especially when trees surrounded them, but beggars can't be choosers.

"You know perfectly well that they can't penetrate through solid objects and we're surrounded by perfectly opaque trees." He pulled her struggling body near, letting his silent fury show in his eyes. "Now, I want to know who Tristam Brigham is, and I want to know now, Midii, or…" His face took on an eerily calm look, "I'm going to leave this place."

He received the desired reaction from her. Her baby blue eyes turned wide with fright, and her body ceased struggling. 

"Y-you wouldn't…!" Midii shook her head. He can't! Everything rides on him being in the Center! It was as though heaven sent that he was reassigned to the gardens! When his face didn't register a single trace of emotion, she knew that he would. She looked down at the grassy soil, defeated. Again. By him. "Let go, and I'll try."

Trowa let her arm go, ready to grab her again if she even tried to run away before answering any of his questions. 

Midii started pacing in front of him, trying to sort out what she could and couldn't tell him. It was too early… Should she? No. But… A frustrated grunt left her before she stopped in front of him then stomped her foot. "Why are you being so difficult?! Can't you just wait?"

"I've waited long enough. I've played by your rules too long." Trowa reached out and gripped her wrist, pulling her closer to his tense body. "I want answers, Midii, and I want them now."

'So different…. He's so different…' Midii thought as she stared into his cold, unflinching eyes while he breathed fury down her face. Slowly, she felt her body slacken. She couldn't fight him, but she couldn't tell him… 

When he saw her shoulders droop and her proud head tilt down, he slackened his hold. It may have been a long time, but she still held something deep in him.  Maybe he had been too judgmental about her? He let go of her wrist, trying to figure out if he had been logical with this sudden decision-

Midii took her chance… and ran away. Away from him, from this suffocating soulless center. Away from everything.

Trowa stared at her departing back, knowing full well that he could have stopped her, but not knowing why he didn't.  He looked down at his hands, wondering what could have happened if… he hadn't thought of his feelings for her. He knew he had physically hurt her, but… 'Bloody hell…' 

He was about to leave when he felt eyes on him. Eyes. No mistaking it, someone saw the exchange. He turned and stared at the direction where he felt it coming from. His instincts were on the mark. He saw the unmistakable glint of golden hair, and then the owner stood up… Dorothy Catalonia.

Surprise hit him akin to an invisible punch into his stomach. 'Dorothy is… here?!' He barely had time to cover his surprise! What was she doing here? When did she get here? Was she going to turn him in? She always was on the wrong side of the game… And yet- she placed her fingers on her lips. An obvious sign of confidence. He had the distinct feeling that she wasn't going to tell anyone, that she was on his side. He must talk to her.

He suddenly felt apprehensive. It wasn't Dorothy, but… something else that was making him feel worried... Slowly, he turned his gaze to the gray walls of the Center. Almost instantly, a red flickering light appeared on the inner wall, and then a message-

"Lieutenant Matthew, Lieutenant Matthew, please report to the Emergency room."  

'Thursday…' He was quite sure that Midii could take care of herself. What was this apprehensive feeling that was slowly clutching at his heart, then? Bit by bit, his feet moved. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened. 

Trowa reached the S74 area- the inner garden- entered, and found it empty. He quickly scanned the room. There was no mistake. Christy was not inside. He shouldn't be surprised. She was a doctor, though of plants, and she's like her brother. She must be helping Jessie.

He walked to her desk and saw her neat script on the plain white paper. It was a list of plants in their scientific names. Everything was checked except for one, the last one. Well, there wasn't anything to do but to wait for her. 

Trowa sat on the couch, willing his body to relax as hours passed by. Sunset came and he was staring at the blazing orange sky when the door from the main hallway swished open and he quickly stood up, expecting her. 

It wasn't her and his anxiety doubled.

Jessie plowed inside, frantically searched the whole garden before his eyes fell on 874 and started for him. "Where is she? Where the bloody hell is she?!"

Trowa forced back the question- isn't she with you?- and instead, asked- "The doctor?"

"Yes! Who else am I looking for?! She wasn't there today! Where is she?!" Jessie reached him, worried, agitated, and more. He barely had time to change out of his blood-spilled attire before he ran in here. She never missed helping during a Thursday drill! Never!

"I do not know." Trowa flexed his hands behind his back. From Jessie's face and tone of voice, he knew there was something to be worried about.

Without anything else to do, Jessie walked to the desk, intent to find out where she… He grabbed the paper- "Achillea millefolium." He looked around the garden, now in half darkness with the sun nearly below the horizon. He could never say that he was an expert, like her, but he was familiar enough to know that- "She doesn't have any woundwort tree- damn!" He looked at Trowa, that impassive face, and he felt like explaining. "Sometimes, we run out of supplies and she gathers some of her plants to help out just in case. I guess her supply ran out too and she thought she'd pick some-" Jessie's eyes widened in shock. "Why the hell am I explaining this to you?! I never explain anything to anyone!"

Trowa could be sure about that! The man was too flighty to be able to give a logical explanation.

Jessie sighed then ran to the full glass wall at the far end of the garden with Trowa right behind him. 

Trowa watched as Jessie counted the planes of glass from the corner to the seventh one, and then stop to look at the ground. Trowa followed and he could tell that the pot of bush, nearly as tall as he, was just recently pushed away. 

Jessie faced 874, concern etched on his face. "Her supply must have been low…" He looked outside, "She's out there, somewhere… She never missed a Thursday." He pushed at the seventh glass and it easily swung out.

Trowa nearly blinked in surprise- if he wasn't so worried.

"Damn that girl… The only good thing out of this is that Dr. Blake isn't here…" Jessie stomped his foot for lack of anything else to do. He would rather scream, or beat somebody up, but… now isn't the time. He face Tristan, trying to sort out the best possible solution. "Start looking for her, and I'll bring along a search team."

Trowa nodded, more than willing to, itching to start. "Yes, sir."

With a nod, Jessie ran out of the garden while Trowa walked out of the glass garden and into the real, visible world. He saw the shimmer appear on his arms, his foot, the tip of his nose as he walked out of the compound's area. Nausea clouded his senses but he forced himself to concentrate. Mentally, he already decided that the only way to get back inside was to either leave a mark here, or utilize the tree Midii had used when he came here for the first time.  

Once fully outside, Trowa knelt on the ground to regain his lost ambiance and to use the last bit of sunlight to distinguish the direction she walked to. Confident, he stood up and hurriedly followed her trail, his eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness. 

He was dumb. There must be something wrong with him. Why didn't he follow his logical side when he thought of bringing a flashlight along before he plunged into his search? It was too dark to follow her trail, and he didn't know how long he's been walking either. At least the sky was clear and he could still use the constellations for directions. 

'Where are you?' His stomach, already in knots, tightened. He couldn't think… 'Bloody hell, Trowa. Concentrate!' He wouldn't be able to find her if he doesn't. Closing his eyes, he willed his body to relax, to listen to the sounds of nature, to feel his surroundings… 

He followed his instincts, weaving in and out of the dense trees, cursing those sharp edged leaves, those lumpy roots, and those irritating bugs. He stopped when he stepped into a clearing, feeling the hair at the back of his neck rise. There was something wrong here… He was quite sure that they were far away from the training grounds, but… His eyes scanned the area then settled on the still form at the base of a large, ancient looking tree. 

'Christy…' He took a step, then stopped, that uneasy mood going through him again. His eyes slanted as they studied his surroundings and finally, with the soft light from the twinkling stars above, he saw the machine gun on top of a tree just two meters away from him. 

In a flash, he knew what had happened and his heart constricted. He forced his eyes not to look at her yet and worked on reaching the trap and disassembling it. If he could destroy the damn armament, he would have, but he couldn't. Instead, right after he was sure that it wouldn't be able to fire again, he headed for her. 

She was wearing a white version of her dress, and with the soft light that helped him find that instrument of death, he also saw the dark red liquid that seeped through the white satin and created trails down her right arm. He paused, unable to believe his eyes even when he knew, deep in the back of his mind that something had happened. She sat there at the base of the tree, one limp hand over her right shoulder, her head hanging down against her chest, and her long black hair swept over the left shoulder. If it weren't for the blood, he would have thought she was just taking a nap… but there was blood…

'Blood…' She was bleeding. 'No…!' Something snapped in him. A hope, a fighting chance. She couldn't be dead. Not yet. He ran to her side while he noted the trail of blood from about a meter away from her body. He deduced that she crawled from where she was shot, to this tree before she passed out. 

"Christy?" He tilted her chin with one hand, his other checking for a pulse at the base of her neck. He found it. Faint, but it was there. He pulled her hand away from her wound and found that she was shot around her shoulder. How many times, he wasn't sure, but the satin on her wound was hard with mixed dried and wet blood. She was so cold, and so pale…

"Tristn…" 

Her slurred whisper made him rivet his attention from the wound to her face. Her eyes were glazed from loss of blood, but there was a hint of a smile, coupled with pain, on her lips.

"Thank… kyh…" 

Her eyes closed again and Trowa made up his mind. Gently but hurriedly, he effortlessly carried her in his arms. With a quick check at the stars above, he half ran to the direction of the compound. He saw the flashlights darting here and there and he knew he was near, mentally checking that the lights belonged to the search and rescue team. But he didn't have time for them, and he didn't care if he anyone saw him running either. 

Part of the behavior reprogramming or not, Christy needs help and she's going to get it. He crashed out of the forest and into the familiar clearing of the compound, his eyes fastening on the three men where the entrance to the compound should be. The hot pink lab coat wasn't hard to miss, even with darkness all around them. It amazed Trowa that it took so much of his will power to create his usual mask of indifference but thankfully, he was able to manage just as Jessie caught sight of his silhouette and ran towards him.

"Open the doors!" Jessie ordered to the two orderlies he left by the main entrance and met Tristan halfway. He kept his hands from shaking as he checked the diameter of blood on her clothing. "Oh my God…" Jessie closed his eyes to murmur for strength then he scooped her body from Tristan's hold just as he said- "Give her to me."

Without another glance, Jessie ran into the compound, shouting more orders. Trowa stared at the retreating figure, half angry that she was snatched from his arms, and that he was discarded just like that. He wanted to be with her, to make sure that she would be all right… Was he going to be deprived of that?

He glared at one of the orderlies who were left outside, talking to the same thin, pen-shaped communicator Trowa had seen Jessie use before. One by one, the other soldiers came back from the dark forest and the orderly counted the heads, nodding his satisfaction before he turned to face Trowa. 

It was Quentin. 

"Come on, 874." He motioned for Trowa to come in.

He was feeling rebellious, but the concern he felt for Christy overturned that and he finally obeyed, though unwillingly so. When he reached Quentin, the older man motioned for him to follow.

"Dr. Matthew told me to take you to the observation room."

He nearly balked at the surprising news. Thankfully, Quentin wasn't facing him. Not willing to question the good fate that was offered, he followed him up the stairs and into a pristine room with an inclined glass wall. Far below, Dr. Jessie Matthew worked on Christy. More blood oozed and though he knew how much blood a person could carry, he still wondered where it was all coming from.

"I'll leave you in here. I need to help downstairs."

"Yes sir." Trowa nearly forgot to answer before the door behind him closed, his attention fixed on the scene happening below. There was a litany he was mentally praying that he wasn't even aware he was doing… finally, he said the phrase in a whisper- "Please be all right…" His hand reached out to touch the glass as if to touch Christy's face while mentally, he willed for her to hang on. He was sure that Jessie was used to these operating procedures, but things always happen. 

He stayed where he was until Jessie nodded to Quentin, and the older man motioned for new aides to bring the cot outside. It was over. Finally.

Trowa watched as Jessie leaned down and bestowed a kiss on Christy's forehead. His reaction to the act was a curious zap of annoyance. He took a couple of steps back, wondering about the origin of that unfamiliar emotion when the door behind him opened. Years of discipline were the only thing that helped Trowa's body not to turn and face the door in surprise. Calmly, he turned.

"She lost a lot of blood…" Jessie rubbed his face wearily, a sprinkle of dark stubbles growing across his chin. "If you were even a little bit too late…" He looked away, not wanting to even think of the consequences. "It was a surprise that she even held on that long."

Trowa gripped his fisted right hand tighter behind his back. He knew what Jessie was trying to tell him. She could have died…

A sarcastic grin titled Jessie's lips then he shook his head as if catching himself in a humiliating act. "Geeze… she even got me talking to you like you would understand." With another shake of his head, he stretched out his hands upward then backward. "What a week… Can't wait until this is all over…"

Trowa wholeheartedly agreed. 

"Yah know," Jessie tilted his head to one side as he contemplated the soldier in front of him. There was just something unique about this one. "You are different… maybe that's why…" Maybe that's why she's trying so hard. "Well, let's see if you understand this, 874." Jessie ruefully smiled. "She loves those calla lilies that grows near the waterfall in her garden the most." With those last words said, Jessie turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Trowa slightly inclining his head to the side, almost akin to how Jessie studied him.

'Is this a test?' Trowa asked himself. What would happen if he did bring lilies to her-

"By the way," Jessie's head popped in just as the door swished halfway. "She's in A4. That is," His right eyebrow rose in challenge, "… _if_ you're interested."

Then he was gone again. Trowa shook his head. 'What a strange person.' Jessie changes moods more often than the sea waves touch the shores. With a shrug, as though to brush away the heaviness that surfaced the moment he saw her bloody body, he walked out of the room and into their garden.

…

_0615 hours_

He feels like an idiot. No, he feels embarrassed _and _like an idiot. The sweet smell of jasmines wafted to his nose and he closed his eyes, wondering what had possessed him. He woke up earlier than he had expected to, especially since he spent the night tossing and turning. Finally, he lay on his cot and stared at the dark sky that slowly glowed with the gradual rising sun. 

He had looked at the waterfall, his eyes focused upon those ivory white lilies while his mind replayed what Jessie had said. That was when he just let himself do what had been bothering him and he ended up… walking down the hall with a large beaker full of water, three calla lilies, and a palm's length of sweet smelling jasmine buds. 

Trowa hesitated outside Room A4. Never in his life- that he was aware of- had he given anyone flowers. Not once and yet, here he was… Should he clear his throat? Knock? 'Idiot.' She was probably sleeping. She would probably not even know that he came in. 

Taking a deep breath, not knowing why his hands grew clammy, he pressed his code against the number pad on the wall and it silently swished open. His heart lurched at the sight of her with tubes of IV's connected to her body. 

He took a step inside and the door closed. She was less pale than last night, and thankfully, her long black hair was meticulously arranged over one shoulder. The 'what ifs' that haunted his night nipped at his heel again. Slowly, not wanting to wake her up, he walked to her bedside table and deposited his gift.

"Mmm… Jasmines…" 

His gaze snapped to the bed. He saw her move under the blanket, her head tilting towards him and her chest puffing that he knew she was following the flowers' scent. Then her eyes opened and he thanked no one in particular that the glazed look was gone, replaced by the soft, just woken up ones. 

"What a lovely way to wake up…" She whispered, her voice hoarse while her eyes was still trained on Tristan's beautiful forest green eyes, the color reminding her of the base portion of a leaf- the darker portion. It truly was a nice way to wake up… to have someone beside her bed who looks at her with concern, at least, she hoped she wasn't imagining the concern in Tristan's eyes. Sometimes, she wonders if it was just wishful thinking on her behalf that she could see emotions in his eyes.

The small smile on her lips made him relax. He felt the need to lean over her bed and give her an embrace and he argued with himself that he was only feeling that way because he was concerned. Just concer- he took a step forward when she moved and grimaced in pain, biting down on her lower lip to stop a painful shout, but not able to stop that gasp of pain that made him ache.

"It's all right, Tristan." She whispered, noticing his reaction. Then, she looked at her shoulder and saw the wound. Understanding lit her eyes. "Oh… that's right…" her mind recollected what happened yesterday- it must have been yesterday- then slowly, she looked back at him. "You saved me." She knew. She could vaguely remember it, everything was hazy, but she remembered looking at him and feeling… safe. 

Trowa didn't answer, but satisfaction was like a sweet drink to his soul when she looked up at him and gave him that grateful smile. And when her gaze traveled to the lilies, the 'oh' her lips had formed was another sweet taste.

She couldn't begin to decipher the happiness she could feel at the moment and when she turned to Tristan, she held out her hand.

The smile she bestowed upon him… it was the first time she had ever smiled like that, and he told himself he wouldn't mind coming everyday with a vase full of lilies if she would only keep that smile on her face. He didn't even think as he neared her bed and reached out to touch the hand she offered. It came so naturally to him. There were no fears, no embarrassment, nothing that popped in his head when he closed that small distance between them.

"Thank you, Tristan."

Trowa mentally shook his head. 'No, thank _you_.' They stayed in that position for a time, wonderfully content-

"Tut! Tut! What is my patient doing awake at this hour!?"

Trowa's lips became a straight line and his eyes slanted at the sudden intrusion… He should be thankful that Christy had focused her gaze on the- he was sure of it- hot pink lab coated doctor.

"Awww! Isn't that sweet? 874 brought you flowers! I wouldn't mind having a strong handsome hunk like him bring me some!"

Slowly, Trowa turned his head to glare at the doctor only to have his eyes squint to deflect the brightness of the fluttering apple green coat. 

"Good morning, Jessie." A chuckle accompanied her greeting as the doctor stopped at the foot of her bed-

"Oh my! Will you look at that! Holding hands?!" 

The two quickly released each other's hands. She bit her lower lip while Trowa forced himself not to reveal his own embarrassment… although, his awkward moment was being surpassed by anger towards this high-pitched doctor whom he almost thought to be a considerate human being last night.

Jessie's eyebrow rose as he looked at the stoic Trowa, then at the flushing patient. At the back of his mind, he wondered if there was anything going on between the two… then again, no… No… he's being paranoid. He's looking into things too deeply. Although, if these two had met in different situations, they would probably be a nice couple… "874, go on and eat your breakfast, I need to check on my patient."

He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay and… and… He wanted to stay. "Yes sir." Trowa turned and started for the door. When it opened, he heard his 'name'.

"Tristan…"

Trowa half turned to face her, wondering what she would say. "Yes, doctor?"

"I'll see you soon, all right?"

She smiled again and Trowa almost smiled back, barely catching himself. His anger was gone, replaced by that warmth he had felt earlier when they touched hands. "Yes, doctor." The door closed behind him, a solid barrier, and that was when reality knocked upon his door and he started to wonder… 'What is the matter with me?'

**…**

Trowa calmly looked up just as a tray of delicious waffles, hash browns, and eggs was plunked on the table while an apple green lab coat blocked his sight of the entrance.

"Hey there!"

It was easy not to pay any attention to Jessie, once you get used to his screeching voice. The man could be a worthy human, if he was even half as serious as… well… Duo. He nearly smiled as he remembered that braided man. It had been too long since he truly thought of his friends… Wufei, Relena, Heero, Hilde, Sally, and Une… and, of course, Quatre. Dear, sweet, overworked Quatre-

"Hey! You listening to me?!" 

A seemingly green flag waved itself in front of his eyes- oh. It was his lab coat's sleeve. He gave a blank look to Jessie's direction, showing his boredom-

"I can only keep her for three days at the most, you know."

Now he snared Trowa's attention. "The doctor?" 

Jessie rolled his eyes. "The doctor? The doctor? What is up with this 'the doctor?' question?! Who else would I be talking about?!" Jessie raked his hands through his hair, disheveling it some more. "Yeesh! I am definitely going crazy. I mean," He held out his hand in front of him, then started his countdown. "First she got me to memorizing her plants, then she calls me at night, then she runs off to look for a damn plant and gets herself seriously hurt, and now, she got me talking to a zombie! I mean, not that I don't usually talk to you guys like this. It _is _the only way to keep a sane mind around here, yah know. But still-"

Trowa nearly sighed, zoning out of the conversation. This man was just as talkative as Duo, but at least his friend's voice was pleasant!

"Anyways, that's beyond the point. What I'm trying to say here is that if I know her as well as I do," Jessie leaned to 874 conspiringly, "She'll be back in her lab, working like Dr. Jekyll. She's a workaholic, yah know." Jessie nodded as he said those last few words, almost as if he was imparting a secret.

Trowa clicked back in to the tête-à-tête. "What are you saying, Dr. Matthew?" He asked in his best toneless voice.

Jessie's grin reached ear-to-ear, glad to see 874 responding to his question and Trowa had the sinking feeling that he was about to receive a life sentence. "What I want you to do is to look after her. I'm a bit busy right now with some patients, and I need someone who's close to her to keep an eye on her once I let her go. Got that?"

It wasn't as if he wasn't going to look after her, anyway. "Yes, sir." He'd do more than that. He'll make sure she recovers as quickly as possible.

"Also, remind her about the skin rejuvenation operation once her wounds heal."

Trowa gave a nod. "Yes, sir."

"Splendid!" Jessie reached out and ruffled Trowa's hair in happiness, withdrawing his hand only to start eating his delicious breakfast. 

One glance at the shiny metal tray under his plate and Trowa saw his hair with ends pointing to every direction. He resisted the urge to comb it, remembering his observation that none of the soldiers take heed of their appearance. To try to keep his anger, he glanced around the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Onie. It's rare for him to eat at the cafeteria nowadays. Usually, Christy would order in their food. The teen would eat with Jessie and the other medical assistants, but today, he wasn't there. Disappointment flickered through him and he wondered how such a young boy could affect him so much. Without the silent Onie to observe how his sister's accident affected him, and not wanting to spend any more time with Jessie, Trowa stood up, ready to get back to work.

…

"You've kept the garden for me." 

The whispered gratuitous words flowed over Trowa like the warm sunshine that filled the garden, and like the plants inside, he basked in it. He knew she would notice. It wasn't that he wasn't used to compliments. Cathy have often encouraged him and publicly admired his works, if he did a good job. But with her, it was just different. She turned around for the third time, in the middle of her garden, faced him then smiled that radiant smile that first- and only- time he visited her. He had missed that smile. 

"I knew you would look after them." She walked closer to him, took his right hand in both of hers then looked directly into his face. "I truly appreciate it."

_That_ was her version of a hug, or so he logically surmised. Whereas Cathy would openly hug him, the nearest physical contact he had ever seen the doctor do was to hold his hand in both of hers, give it a slight pressure, and show her gratefulness with her eyes. It was nice, but… Trowa mentally sighed. There was that questionable 'but' in the air, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

She let go of his hand then looked away. Her cheeks felt hot- was she coming down with a fever? And why was it that she was staring at Tristan's… lips? Oh dear… There must be something wrong with her. She had been staring at his lips since… well… her earliest recollection was two weeks after he moved into the garden when she heard him moaning and she checked up on him just to make sure he was all right. He was also thrashing about on the cot and she walked over to his bed and held his hand, talking to him. When he relaxed, she had studied his face and her eyes fell on his lips… 

Her fingertips tingled as she remembered reaching out, stopping halfway, then curiosity and the want overcame her fear and she touched his lips gently. So soft, but they looked firm… She traced his lips with her fingers, then when he stirred, she pulled back. Suddenly feeling scared, she ran back into her room. Once inside, she had stared at her hand, then she moved to her desk mirror and staring at her image while she slowly brought her fingers to her lips. Her insides became like mush and she didn't know why she felt like smiling and deprived at the same time. 

Maybe she should ask Jessie if she was coming down with something. Although… she feels healthy enough. This _must_ be a passing phenomena… it must be! She hadn't read or heard of anything that would constitute to these horridly confusing feelings.  

Trowa frowned, sensing a sudden change from her. A certain tenseness… "Is there something wrong?" 

She was so muddled with her own thoughts that she didn't even realize that he asked her something that wasn't in their programming. "No, Tristan. There isn't anything wrong." Forcing her face to show calm, she faced him and waved her hand to her table, intent to focus her wandering mind. "I was just wondering how I would be able to work without using my right hand." She white lied as she looked at her slinged arm.

"I will help."

A small, soft smile lighted her face as she looked back at Trowa. She already knew he would. He'd become important to her, and it was not only because she was starting to depend on him. "I know you will." She started to walk to her 'lab'. "Let's start. I'm already behind."

Trowa smiled. Jessie was correct. She _is_ a workaholic. 


	66. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 6

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Six

By Heartfire

~*~

He was looking for Midii when he saw _him_ again. It was in the same place where the teen had backed away from him. Onie. He wasn't facing him, but his body was in such an angle that Trowa knew a sudden movement would attract attention. So, he stood still and watched.

Onie was on his hands and knees, appearing smaller than ever in his baggy, black uniform and meshed cap. Trowa was starting to wonder what he was doing in such a position when he heard a chirp, then a brown bird jumped over his arm and a suppressed chuckle left Onie's mouth.

'The bird…' He stared at it, knowing full well that its wing had healed. Onie patted its small head and Trowa understood. The little boy was letting the bird go. When Onie stood up and turned. His brown eyes fell on Trowa and he stilled.

The teen really does have an appealing face, just like his older sister. Their eyes, nose… lips… 

Trowa inwardly jerked, forcing his eyes to look at Onie's brown ones. He didn't see the fear in them today, but not wanting to chance it being directed to him again, Trowa gave a slight, tense nod, then started to walk away, deciding to look for Midii later. To have Onie's fear directed at him was… not a nice feeling at all, especially when he's interested in becoming well… friends with the child. Kindred souls, that's what this was about.

**…**

She rigidly stood against the doorframe of Jessie's large facility until the last person left the room. She cleared her throat and Jessie looked up from scribbling something on his pad paper. 

A wide, welcoming smile appeared on his lips and he motioned for her to come in. "Hello, dear! Is this business or pleasure?" The troubled look on her face made his smile waver. "Ah… I see that it's business. What's wrong? Your dad?"

She shook her head as she sat on the chair right next to him. It had been weeks and weeks since she had told herself she would be all right- weeks of seeing and staring at Tristan- both inside and outside her work area. And it seemed that whatever it was that was ailing her, was only mounting to an insurmountable high. Why… two weeks ago, she saw him in the outside gardens and she all but felt as though her saliva was falling out of her lips!

Jessie's worry deepened. There's never anything else that worried her, save for her dad! "Are you going to tell me?"

"I…" She gulped then looked up at him while she wrung her wrists with restless hands. "I think… there's something wrong with me."

Jessie reached out and touched her hand, instilling confidence so she would have the courage to tell him. "I'm sure that this doesn't have to do with your wound, or the skin rejuvenation. Those came out successfully. I'm willing to help, just tell me."

She bit her lower lip then sighed. "I don't know how to start this… it's… embarrassing."

"Just try, hun." Jessie whispered affectionately. Whatever it was, he will help her.

"Well…" She wetted her lips with her tongue and forced herself to speak. "I'm having lapses of body heat, mostly on my face, and… er… I'm starting to look at…"

Jessie had to lean over to hear her. She was starting to whisper so softly.

"Lips."

He nearly fell down from his chair. "Say- what?!"

"Tristan." She fidgeted then started plucking on her dress. "I've found myself staring at his lips more than enough times." She sighed, then her voice became stronger, a little angered by this uncommon feeling. "It is most disturbing. Really! I cannot concentrate! I've been with him before but I've never had this kind of…" What word could she use? "Curiosity- and only about his lips! But recently…" Her cheeks flushed a bright red, unable to continue explaining that recently, she'd been staring at his _whole_ body…

He wants to laugh. Honest to goodness, he wants to bark out and laugh. She was starting to discover men, inner urgings. Her hormones were working! Thank God for that! He thought that Blake had done something to her, but now, she's acting more like a woman. She'd never been this agitated before. "It's just hormones, dear."

"Hormones?" She frowned. "I know all about hormones. I've read them and aced all my dad's tests. How could it be about hormones?"

Jessie frowned. She was educated in all aspects- arts, literature, languages, and most especially science and math… but… "You never had sex education, have you?"

Her eyes narrowed, feeling a bit as though she did something wrong when she hadn't. She became defensive. "I know all about genders, if that is what you mean. The creation of a human life form within a woman's body is clear to me. I know the difference between the male and female's organs-"

"Kissing? Making love?" Jessie cut in curiously. When she tilted her head and frowned, he nearly fell off his chair again… But then, he shouldn't have been surprised. He knew that her mom died when she was… well… young. Blake's also overprotective of her. It shouldn't have been a wonder… 'Well,' an inner mischief popped its head in him. 'I'm just gonna have to taint her innocent little head about it… maybe have a bit of fun?' He's on his deathbed from boredom, this will give him a good boost of energy!

"Jessie? What is… kissing? You make it sound… prohibited. And what of making… love? I mean, I know what love is, but how could it be made?"

He shook his head, already figuring out how to set his plan. "My dear, you've been deprived! Imagine, not knowing what the truth of kissing and making love is about!"

"Then…" She leaned forward, her eyes brimming with curiosity. "Tell me, please."

Here it is. He'll straighten her out later, but let him have a bit of fun right now. She'll understand later. "Making love is when you show your affections. A gesture, a touch, a look, a whisper." Well, at least that was not exactly a lie, but here comes the real zinger- Jessie leaned closer and whispered- "Touching lips…" 

"Touching…lips…?" She blinked, a bit surprised at that revelation… She couldn't imagine touching lips with anyone! It was giving her goose bumps just thinking of it! 

"Kissing, on the other hand…" He gave a dramatic sigh and noticed how she tilted her head. "It is the ultimate show of affection."

Jessie leaned back on his chair, appearing as though the most knowledgeable of the subject. "You NEVER ever kiss anyone unless you're serious about him."

"Serious?" She whispered in interest. "Why?"

"Well, because the person you kiss is someone very special to your heart." Yes! Another point for the J-man! He didn't lie with that one. Jessie nodded. "Mothers touch their lips on children's cheek to show her love, but two people who have affection for each other kiss…" He let her wait a bit. When he was sure his pause was enough, he continued. "On the lips… exchange saliva, and move all over your body."

She felt her cheeks aflame with those last words. Imagine! Exchange of liquids- and lips going all around the body? Though the notion was seemingly disgusting- and obviously unhygienic- a part of her tingled with anticipation. 

"You see, the first step to kissing is making love- that is, making love just on the lips. But with _kissing,_ you are … experiencing something entirely different." Jessie suddenly remembered Dorothy, and it wasn't a surprise that he had to cover his… uhm… crotch with his pad paper to hide his reaction. 

"Go on." 

Her whisper reminded him of what he was doing. He looked at her and saw her curiosity.  "Well, there are three kinds of kisses. The osculum, the basium, and the savium. The first is just a friendship and affection kiss, the second is a passionate kiss, while the last is a very deep kiss. Those last two, you should be careful with because it includes shedding your clothes and well…. Scientifically speaking, kissing signals our brain to produce oxytocin, and it's a hormone that gives us these tingly, yummy feelings, and you want to have more and… well… do it."

She wasn't exactly sure what 'do it' was about, but she was a little afraid to ask about it. "So… what good is a kiss aside from just a way to exchange liquids?"

Jessie nearly choked when he almost laughed. "Dear! The way you say it… It's more than that! It also has a psychological effect! You see, when your mouth is in a kissing position," He leaned forward, putting his hands on her cheeks and pushing upon them to make her lips pout like a fish, "You're almost smiling, and since your emotions and body language are linked, you are relaxed. You close your eyes and breathe deeper, and it helps you shut the world out. Plus, it makes you burn sugar faster than usual, and it tones your cheeks and jaw muscles so, no sagging!" Jessie leaned back on his chair, trying to think up of more 'good of kissing' he had read when he was just studying about medicine. "You also release adrenaline into your bloodstream so your heart pumps more blood and its like a good cardiovascular workout."

"Really?" She never thought that kissing was so healthy.

He saw something in her eyes that made Jessie back up a bit. It was a combination of curiosity and wondering… a very bad combination, especially for a scientist. "Of course, you don't make love or kiss with everyone. Remember, you make love first, then the intimate kiss, and you don't do that to just anyone. Only make love to those you want to."

She nodded. "So, from what you are saying, this is a natural phenomenon that occurs to everyone. It is hormonal and therefore, there isn't anything to be worried about, correct?"

Jessie nodded, slowly feeling dread seep through his bones.

"Good!" She jumped out of the seat, relieved and started walking to the door. "There's nothing to be worried about now. Since it's only natural, then it'll pass." She paused then turned, her face in a frown. "It will pass, right?"

"What will?" Jessie asked, his mind slowly reeling… He'd done something bad.

"Thinking of lips."

"Oh… yeah… it will." Well… not to him, but still…

"Good! I have to go now," She walked to his door, ready to leave. "Tristan's waiting and dad's going to be home in a few more minutes."

The next thing Jessie knew, she had closed the door. He scratched his head… maybe he shouldn't have twisted his words? No… she's responsible enough… but she's also a scientist, and that means… experimenting… No! Give the girl a chance. Even if she wants to experiment, her guts would tell her no, and she does follow her instincts more than he knew of anyone. 

Well… it seemed that having Tristan Brigham with her was a good investment. It wasn't that she doesn't interact with men, but he thought it'll give her some experience… and it was working.

**…**

It's been a few weeks since her talk with Jessie… she still hadn't seem to get over it. What should she do? She'd researched plant medicines and chemicals, but she couldn't find anything to help her. 

She sighed then knocked on the private quarter's door. "Sir?" She cringed at the word. She used to be able to talk to him, when mother was alive… Now, it was different.

"Come in, Lieutenant."

She closed her eyes, willing away the tears. Why couldn't her father be more… like a dad? Self-consciously, she pulled down the lapels of her borrowed clothes then closed her right hand around the knob. At the last minute, she tilted her head up high and placed a mask of indifference on her face. "You called me, sir?"

Her eyes hungrily took him in. She rarely saw her father, unless he asked for her like today- or if she asked for permission to meet him. Other than that, he stayed away from her like the plague, and she couldn't get near him. So, times like these were always a treasure. She wished mother didn't die… He wasn't even looking at her… does he even know what she looked like? She wants to pound her fists on his table and tell him to look at her. Her, not his darnable papers. Her. His daughter. No one else. She wants him to call her by her name and not her given position. She wants to hug him, feel his arms around her just like when she was young… 

"I want a progress report on your project." Blake demanded as he checked off some additional contracts with the Arche government.

She stifled a sigh. This was the only thing that was giving her hope that he would finally acknowledge her as a daughter. Maybe if she discovers this breakthrough, he'll finally notice her. It was just too bad that… she's using lives. "It is going well, sir. I've noted some slight lack of memory on the two specimens within the five-month period since I've injected the serum into their system."

Blake took his eyes off his papers to raise an eyebrow at her. "I want a faster response."

Her eyelids fluttered as she glanced at her feet, then at the edge of the table, unable to look directly at her father. "I know, sir. I've been experimenting with some new combinations, and a higher dosage might help…"

"So, you need some new people?" Blake asked as he leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

'No! I don't want any more!' Her mind screamed, but what could she do…? With her heart sinking and becoming smaller, she nodded. "Yes, sir. I need another male and female."

"I'll send word to the _Ground_." That said, he looked back at his papers with undivided attention. "You know what to do."

She felt her head nod though she couldn't feel her body. Was that all? 'Dad… I'm here. Please, look at me…' 

As though he heard her, he glanced up once again. "Well? You're still here?" His fingers started tapping on the table and she felt torn.

"I apologize, sir." She quickly turned around and left the room. In her mind, she vaguely remembered the time when her mother died… she didn't know how it happened, her yaya just told her that her mother was gone. When she tried to talk to dad, he wouldn't look at her… He never talked to her again until… until she showed him her work. By then, she noticed that he would look at her more patiently if she called him sir… and then she noticed that- her hands went over her clothes and she sighed once again. With a quick shake of her head, she walked to Jessie's office.

**…**

Blake bit his lower lip as he stared at the closed door. Why was it that he feels so guilty whenever she was around? "Tsch… You know why…" He muttered under his breath. He pushed her away, he isolated her from society-

"I was only trying to protect her from harm." He muttered once again, then he pushed his hands through his hair. "Laurette… what am I doing wrong?" 

Slowly, he opened the lower drawer of his desk then took out a colored picture of his wife… smiling. "She's starting to look like you, you know… She has your smile…" His last word wavered. He rarely see his daughter smile anymore. She doesn't know that he visits her at night, just to look at her… to touch her face and press a light kiss on her hair… She doesn't know how he would hold her hand when she had her nightmares… She doesn't know how much he loves her, but he just didn't know how to show it. "I'm not like you, Laurette… I'm not."

The one last thing his daughter didn't know was that in his desire to still be a part of her life, he always listened to her recorded diary… and he always felt awful that he was putting her through all these things. Every sob that was recorded made his heart cry. 

His mistakes, and she's paying for them… "I'm sorry, my little pie…  I'm so sorry…"

**…**

Jessie leaned against the wall, watching the scene unfold in front of him- a crying woman, a scared looking young man, and his friend's sympathetic face.

"I… I w-wa-want t-to go h-home! P-pl-please… just take m-me home!" The young woman cried, wrapping her arms around her waist while the man seemed ready for a fistfight.

Jessie eyed them wearily. There was a time when the prisoner she picked was hysterical from lack of human contact and fear. It resulted with his friend getting a bruised cheek, and the man's death the moment Blake heard of what happened. Of course, _she _doesn't know that last part…

She shook her head, showing her sadness through her eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't promise you that… what I can promise you is that I'll take care of you. If you help me, if you take this chance that I'm offering you, I'll make sure no one will hurt you so long as you're in my care."

Jessie looked away. He knew the key word in that often spoken speech- 'so long as you're in my care.' In which case, no one is ever in her care for long… If the serum didn't work, they'll be sent to the machine, and if it did work, they'll still be sent to the machine as a precaution… either way, Blake wins. 

"What are you planning to do to us?" The young man finally spoke. He looked healthy with thick brown hair, a pointed chin and almost symmetrical eyes. The man looked just slightly taller than the woman, but then, he was sitting. 

"I am going to be blunt. I am in charge of an experimental serum. It is supposed to help you," She looked from the man to the woman, "escape the… process of what you will have to go through, in a few more days…"

Both she and Jessie saw the cringe in the prisoners' eyes. Day and night, they were the closest to the machine where the brainwashing happens. They probably heard the torturous screams from their fellow cellmates. 

"It'll make us forget… won't it?" The woman asked in a whisper.

She nodded. "Yes… It's supposed to…" She reached out and patted the woman's shoulder. "But, don't worry… I'm working on a cure for that one, too." 

The helpless droop on the prisoners' shoulders prompted Jessie to turn away. She had convinced them, it's only a matter of injecting the serum. Sometimes, he wonders whether or not she takes pleasure in what she does… As quickly as he thought it, Jessie pushed the thought away. He turned around, knowing what he would find- two people on the chair, asleep- a side effect of the serum- and she would be shaking. "Are you all right?"

"You know…" Her head drooped a bit more to her chest, "I wished so hard that I would never have to do this again…"

Jessie sighed. "I'll bring them to their rooms." He walked to the man- Kevin Tramo- soon to be… well… whatever number he becomes assigned with. From the corner of his eyes, he saw her nod, stand, then walk away.

**…**

"Troy, Jenna-" she gave a grunt, accompanied by sounds of splashing water. "Hanna, Greg, Iris, Rewn,-" a sound almost akin to a sob left her lips, "Jen, Frea, Nick, Rick- dumb!" she stomped her foot on the wood, then gasped when the ladder she was standing on wobbled. She steadied her center of gravity then gave a sigh of relief as her high ladder stabilized. 

She wasn't finished with her litany of names yet, and she continued while she drowned the foam in the bucket of water then flattened the blood- which was actually just water- out of it then started swabbing the highest windows she could reach for with her ladder. Cleaning these windows was her stress reliever, but the main point was being up high, away from the science and near to the real nature which was the only way she found herself able to relax. Too bad the first time she figured that out, she fell down the tree and broke her arm in the process. This time around, she was killing two birds with one stone- the windows needed washing, and she needed relaxation. And, as a precaution, she laid two layers of mattresses around her ladder, just in case she fell down.

Her litany of names ended with the latest couple of victims- "Tristan, Midii, Kevin… Ana…" Her right hand swiped a strand of errant hair back under her cap while her left arm faltered during it's mid-swipe. She glanced at her lab table then, without thinking, threw that sponge at it. 

Standing just two steps shy of the top of the ladder, with the sudden jerk that came from her pitch, accompanied by the sway of the bucket, still full of heavy water, hanging by the side… the ladder teetered.

She tried to go against the sway and steady the ladder again, mentally scolding herself for such a stupid behavior, but she leaned on the other side too long. Her eyes went wide and her stomach dipped. 

"Uhm… uh-oh…" 

The ladder groaned, her hair flew in front of her face, and she closed her eyes while she mentally tried to tell herself that she'll be fine because of the mattresses… Of course, even though she was trying to be reasonable, that does not necessarily mean that she was not _panicking_ inside!

**…**

Trowa wiped away the bead of sweat that dropped from his forehead. He just came from his daily exercise from the gym and his heart and health was still perfect- or so Jessie kept on exclaiming. Unconsciously, he pulled at the edge of his uniform's coat, then finally, he pressed the button to go inside the garden, hoping his expression didn't relay the stirring excitement he could feel bubbling at the mere thought of seeing Christy.

But the bubbling excitement boiled over and turned into a sudden rush of fear as he took in the wavering ladder and the person on the very top. The pail of water swung out of the hook and landed against one of the trees just as the person on top- Onie- lost the grip and footing and seemed to hang in the air.

Not losing any time, Trowa ran, calculated the distance and height then he jumped in the air, reached out, and thankfully hooked his arm around that waist. He tried to land gracefully, but in a garden where almost every square inch was covered with plants… it was a bit too hard, and they stumbled to the ground and rolled with Trowa trying to protect the person in his arms and getting the brunt of the situation. Finally, they stopped and he heard that unmistakable 'blag!' from the high ladder.

His body hurt, and… God! His chest felt so tight he could barely breathe! And his hands felt so cold- they were shaking! Good Lord! What was wrong with his hands! Without opening his eyes, he flexed them and tried to bring back feelings into them. When he heard a groan from the idiot he saved, he opened his eyes to glare, but in a span of two seconds, his glare turned into a look of surprise just as _she_ opened her eyes and stared into his.

Lying on their sides, one arm still around her, her eyes widened just as he couldn't seem to be able to control the expression on his face… a million and one things passed between them. 

Trowa finally worked his jaw, but the words he uttered weren't the ones he wanted to say- "You're Christy…!"  

Just as she said- "Tristan… your eyes…!"

At her words, Trowa's face became shuttered while Christy frowned from what she heard, and they both slowly moved away from each other.

"Should I be someone else?" She asked, her eyes still holding his.

Trowa took in her black uniform, the same as his. He thought he was saving Onie… The uniform, the cap… His eyes went from Christy's almost waist length hair to the cap she had been wearing that now laid a few arms away. Her loose uniform made her appear smaller than when she wore her dresses… How could he have not noticed that they were the same person?!

"You did… you thought I was someone else!" She whispered, awed. "Who?"

'She doesn't seem to notice that he just showed her that he wasn't brainwashed.' Trowa thought just as Christy- or Onie- tentatively touched his hand.

"Please, Tristan. Talk to me. I know you've broken free of that mental programming that my father had forced you into. I'm not going to betray you. I'm actually glad. Now, please…?"

The way her chocolate eyes implored, and the fact that he knew she was aware that he wasn't brainwashed made him talk. "I thought Christy and Onie were two different people."

"But…" Onie frowned. "How could you think that?"

He nearly harrumphed. Instead, he just stifled it and wondered why in the world he was just sitting here on the soil, conversing with her instead of making sure that she won't tell on him.  "Ever compared how you look like in your uniform with your cap on, with the way you look like with your dresses?"

"No." Onie tilted her head. "I never did. I only started to dress that way because people take me more seriously when I'm in uniform." She frowned a bit more, trying to understand something. Trowa's memory must have been going through lapses. That's the best explanation she could garner. A memory of her as Onie, then a different memory as Christy. "Just to clarify, my name is Onie Christine." She stood up, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the way she was staring intently at his eyes, trying to gauge his emotions. "I prefer to be called Onie…" She looked away. "I haven't been called Christy for a long time."

Trowa heard the note of pain in her voice but tried to ignore it. Standing up, he mentally studied this new situation he found himself in. "Are you going to turn me in?"

"No!" Onie cried out as she turned to face him, her face full of shock. "How could you ask me that question? I said I was glad you are yourself, didn't I?"

Trowa kept his stoic face. "What are you planning to do, then?" The change on her face from one of shocked anger to curiosity almost made him smile.

"I was… well… I was planning to ask you about your past- and life outside this-" she opened her arms wide around her. "Place… I mean, I do get to the nearest city, but other than that, nothing else. I'm curious about our world."

Trowa nodded, feeling the urge to open her eyes on some of the wonders mankind found. "I cannot tell you about my past-" the sad look on her face hastily made him add- "- because I still cannot remember it." Understanding shone in her eyes as she nodded. It still scares him how much he understood her. He was always good at reading other people, but not on this _different_ kind of level. And it was scaring him that he was just babbling to her. This wasn't at all like himself. "As for the outside world, it is better to experience it first hand than to hear it from the lips of another."

"Oh…" Her face fell. Then, as if she was so used to such answers, she shrugged and tilted one corner of her lips in a semi-smile. "I suppose that… it's for the best that I do not know about it… people should be happy with what they have and not always wish for what's on the other side of the fence." 

She turned away from him then started for her lab. "Tristan, please be careful with your facial expressions once outside the garden. I wouldn't want you to go through the _'process'_ a second time." She reached her table and started pounding the pestle into the mortar. "You are free to help me if you wish to do so, and while you're inside the garden, you can do anything." Mentally, she wondered why she felt so sad when he wouldn't share his knowledge of his world to her… It was… curious to feel in such a way… it reminded her of how she feels towards her father, but different.

Trowa followed her with his eyes those first few minutes, feeling as though he had just let her down, then he stood up and walked towards her. Like before, they worked silently and in perfect synchronization. 

"Tristan…?"

He didn't answer, he just paused his work to show her he was listening. She bent her head lower, and he noticed a faint blush that erupted on her cheeks. 

"Thank you for saving me again."

The corner of his lips went up, the uncomfortable feeling left, and he started again. "You're welcome."

**…**

There was a flurry of activity going on in the center. Sentries were doubled, the base was in red alert, meaning that security became stricter, resulting in delay to acquire more data- specifically, the real target of this whole base. He was able to read some of their small time missions. Onie was also willing to supply him with information, but even she didn't really understand why Blake started this whole operation, and according to her, though she was a bit vague and skitterish about it, she had been with this operation since the beginning. She was part of its Research and Development team, and though he had been working with her, he didn't know what exactly she was doing either. 

He walked into the garden and found it empty, but Trowa confidently walked to the table and found that she had stuck with their system- writing down a note. It was funny how much she trusted him, even showing the exit on the glass windows, which he used when he searched for her. 

_'Out to gather more plants.'_

He nearly smiled. Short and quick, just the way he liked messages to be relayed. He reached underneath the third left drawer of the table and pushed the button he barely felt- another trick she showed. He heard the audible click of the doors around the garden to secure that no one would interrupt him. Then he twisted the leaf on the left lamp, hinged to the wall, and a square panel appeared. A few seconds later, a small computer and keyboard appeared on a mechanical ledge. 

Trowa pulled his chair in front of the computer and then started hacking into the main system. He went through his usual route, tried to check if he missed anything, then he tapped into the main system database and… stared at his picture.

He leaned against the backrest as he stared at that bare shoulder to head picture. For the life of him, he couldn't remember ever having this picture taken, nor did he know how Midii got a hold of it- the right angle for the database. There was something else that was bugging him, but he couldn't figure it out.  He'd stared at that picture countless of times and reviewed the stats that he figured Midii had entered. They were all correct… save for his birth date, which he didn't know. So, what was wrong…?

Trowa leaned in closer to the monitor, his eyes squinted, and finally… he figured it out… He quickly shut down the computer and put everything back in place. "Midii, where ever you are…" he couldn't finish his sentence, irritated to the core. She was not going to escape this time.

**…**

Onie plucked a violet flower from the weeds at the base of the cliff. It took quite an effort to make her father giver her permission to grab supplies, especially with the government surveillance team in the area. She told him that she knew the area like the back of her hand, and finally he let her go. Of course, she didn't tell him that the only place she found the flowers she needed was near the rest shack for the government troops. If he knew… he'd probably never have let her go.

She sat down on the ground and sighed. It seemed that her little hormones dilemma wasn't letting up. The other bad thing that was happening was that the un-brainwashed Tristan was the same as the brainwashed one. He doesn't talk at all. Not that she minded, but she was curious of him.

No… that wasn't at all the truth… It was the hormones dilemma, period. She likes Tristan just the way he is. It was just being in close contact with him every day that she felt… restless. Yes. That was the word she was looking for… Restless.

She shifted her weight, crossed her legs in front of her and placed her chin on her bent knees. There was something about this hormones dilemma that Jessie hadn't told her. Maybe she should ask him some more about it? After all, she already had an enlightening talk with him a few days back. Jessie had sealed her guess about the truth behind his identity, but she was not about to betray a good friend. She wants to help, and she already have the best gift she could give him- a few days of vacation. 

Onie stood up, turned, then stopped in her tracks. 'Company…' She squinted her eyes from the sun's glare, and blinked. 'No… that can't be…' It- they… the two were their soldiers. Tristan and Midii, one of the last couple she-

'What are they doing out here?' The way the two were fluttering their arms about them showed anger. Anger. An emotion. Midii had never shown any indication of such before, that was why she focused on Tristan… but this meant that her serum was definitely a success! Of course, success or not, she must still warn those two that there's a dangerous surveillance team around the area!

Her mind made up, she took a step towards them then faltered as she watched the two stared at each other, Tristan did a resigned gesture, then Midii went into his embrace and… _made love_ the way Jessie had explained to her. 

She quickly looked away, tears prickling her eyes. There was definitely something wrong with her. She wants to stop what was happening, punch Tristan and scream at Midii, yet at the same time, she felt helpless. It was an emotion she had never before experienced. Something was happening inside her, too… She felt… crushed.

Biting her lower lip, she turned away from the scene and ran back to compound. She wants to lock herself up in a room and cry her eyes out. She wants to go to the gym and exhaust herself. Most of all, she wants to forget what she saw-

"Whoa there, sweetheart. Where's the fire?"

Jessie's hands clamped on her shoulders just as she bounced off his chest from the sudden impact she didn't see coming. The basket she was carrying fell to the floor, and she kept her eyes fixed on the flowers.

"Here. Let me help."

Onie watched as Jessie bent down to put the flowers back into the basket, then looked up at her and met her eyes. She saw the concern instantly light in them. He quickly stood up and turned her face to meet his.

"What's wrong? What happened? Was it your dad again?"

She couldn't talk, her throat too constricted, and she could only shake her head. She couldn't even begin to explain what was happening to herself, how could she tell Jessie?!

"Onie, breathe." Jessie took a huge gulp then let it out, making a comical face.

She closed her eyes and followed his instructions. Thankfully, she felt a little bit calmer. 

"Better?" Jessie asked as she opened her eyes.

Onie nodded as she reached for her basket and clutched it to her stomach. "Thank you." She side stepped from him and gave a sorry smile. "I have to go."

Her voice was low, a whisper full of emotions, and Jessie was hell sure he wouldn't let her go in such a state! Her father may not give a single damn for her, but he does! He reached out for her arm, stopping her before she could take a step. "Tell me what's wrong."

"What… what makes you think there's anything wrong?" She turned and gave him a smile that she hoped was convincing enough… But the way Jessie scowled down at her- he was definitely not convinced. She doesn't want to tell him. How could he understand? She tugged her arm away, suddenly finding a driving anger. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

The way Jessie's jaw fell, and the hurt in his wide eyes made her want to take back those words.

"Fine… if that's what you want." Jessie straightened then turned away. It was the very first time he heard that tone of voice from her. It was the very first time she had pushed him away. He was about to step away from her when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Jessie… I'm sorry."

He turned back towards her and gave an encouraging smile. "Ready to talk?"

She gave another weak smile. "I don't really know where to begin." There were so many things flying in and out of her mind.

"Well, I've got time. I can wait." Jessie took the basket from her hands then tucked her right hand in the crook of his elbow. "Let's go to your garden as a precaution, though. I don't want prying eyes on us."

She chuckled her response as she followed him. "I am surely blessed to have a friend like you."

"Heh, if you don't know it by now, I dunno where your mind has been these past few years." Jessie squeezed her hand, just to accentuate his point. They reached her garden and he led her to the fountain. He never minded sitting on the dirt in front of this nice scenery, and neither did she. "So… figured everything out?"

Onie shook her head as she cupped her chin on her left hand. "I haven't figured out anything at all… in fact, I think I am more confused than ever."

Jessie nodded, watched as she leaned over and touched the clear water that overflowed from the fountain and went to the stream that snaked around the garden. 

"Jessie… is there something you haven't told me about making love and kissing?"

He blinked. "Uhm… like what?" He felt as if he has this guilty sign flashing over his head!

"Oh, I don't know…" She focused her attention on the water, too embarrassed. "You said that you only make love to those you like, right?"

'What exactly are you hinting at?' Jessie nodded- slowly. "Er… yeah…"

Slowly, she figured something out, and she glanced back at Jessie, focusing on him. Jessie, on the other hand, felt like squirming. He does not like that look at all. 

"You like me, don't you?"

'No!' Jessie's eyes widened. 'This cannot be happening!' He stared at her like she grew another head, and he tried to phrase his answer in the best possible way. "Uhm… of course I like you. I wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't."

"Then…" She tilted her head and her loose cap fell down, making her long, black hair spill down her back. "Make love to me, Jessie."

Jessie swallowed- hard. This was definitely… his fault.

"I just want to know how it feels." Although, why was it that she had this weird sensation that if she let Jessie make love to her, it was going to be all wrong?

'Think fast, Callum… Think fast, or you're going to burn in hell.' He pushed his hands through his black hair as he pieced together a pathetic excuse. "It isn't that simple, Onie… Liking is only a small part of it… I need to find you desirable."

She saw the meaning in his eyes and she quickly looked away, her skin feeling as though it was burning from embarrassment. "Oh… and I am not desirable, correct?"

"No!" Jessie mentally slapped himself. "I think you're plenty desirable."

"And yet, you still do not want to make love to me." Onie answered, her voice lifeless. Was there something wrong with her? 

"No. I mean… I…" He tried to come up with something better… something- "Dorothy!"

"Dorothy?" Onie turned her face towards him, curious. "What about her?"

He finally found the perfect excuse. "I already found the person I like and desire, Onie. It's Dorothy. If I make love to someone else, it would be and act of betrayal on my part. I will be betraying her… Her trust in me. Do you see that?"

She nodded. Somehow, she understood… but… "Jessie, I won't tell Dorothy… I would just like to feel it. Research. That is all."

Jessie's right eyebrow dubiously rose. "That's all?"

Onie quickly nodded. "Yes. That is all." She was lying. That wasn't all. She wants to make love to Jessie as a personal vendetta against… against Tristan and Midii…? She couldn't really comprehend it, but she wants to do this.

"Well… if it's going to get you off my back, fine." Jessie gulped. 'Dorothy, I'm just doing this as a favor. You'll understand, right?' Yeah right, she will! She'd probably hack him to pieces if she ever found out. One thing about that woman- she was one helluva possessive gurl—but boy! Does he love it!

He flicked his tongue over his lips, wetting them. Onie's eyes were curious, but that was all. Her lips were closed, and she was very still. He reached out for her face, one hand going to her cheek while the other to the back of her neck to massage her. "Relax. This is supposed to be good."

He saw her gulp- thank God! That means she was also having second thoughts! He angled her head, and slowly, he leaned forward just as he gently pulled her face to his…

**…**

Trowa flexed his right hand open and close as he tried to control his anger. There was only one place where he would find peace- the garden. Today was not one of his good days. 

He opened the panel that led to the garden and let his eyes roam- stop. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, frowned in a squint, just to make sure… but he didn't need to. He knew that trail of long hair… and he knew that hot pink lab coat…

And he knew exactly what they were doing. They were mere inches from each other, and for every second, a millimeter closer.

His whole body went frigid. Countless of nameless emotions swept through him, but mostly, it was governed by anger. Not wanting to see it happen, Trowa quickly turned around and walked out of the garden, feeling suffocated. He couldn't breathe. His chest hurt… he was sweating cold beads of perspiration, and his head was pounding. A word he very rarely utter left his lips as he tried to control his suddenly off the wall emotions- "Shit…" This was definitely not his day…

**…**

"I can't do this." Onie whispered, her breath teasing Jessie's lips with only a millimeter of breadth from hers. 

'Thank God!' Jessie rejoiced as he leaned back and curiously eyed her. "What's the matter?"

Onie shook her head, questioning her sudden change of heart. "I don't know… I just can't." And yet, she knew… There was only one man she could imagine doing something as intimate as pressing her lips against his—and that man was pressing _his _lips on another girl earlier. "Ohh… what have I gotten myself into?"

"I don't know, dear… but I'm still here, willing to listen." Jessie whispered in a soothing voice as he rubbed her back.

"I can't explain it… besides, I don't want to bore you-" she held up a finger just as Jessie opened his mouth. "And before you say that I won't, I know I will. So how about if we talk about something that isn't boring… like for example, your Dorothy?" The silly smile on Jessie's face made her feel… envious? "When are you going to see her again?"

A lonely sigh escaped him. "I don't know…" He picked up a small rock and threw it into the fountain. "I've been sending requests for a few days leave, but your dad hasn't exactly been on a good mood."

Onie nodded, for the first time, feeling happy since she saw the two in the forest. "Guess what I did for you."

Jessie tilted his head, waiting. "What?"

"I reasonably argued with my father on your behalf. You are entitled to a ten day vacation, Jessie, and you didn't even know it." Actually, he wasn't, but she had begged her father, arguing the fact that Morley would probably want to see him, and without Morley's 'spy', father would be able to do some of the things he doesn't want Morley to know.

Jessie's jaw fell. For almost a minute, he couldn't speak, and then- "WAHOO!!!" He scooped Onie up in his arms and squeezed the life out of her. "Have I ever told you how much I loved you?!"

Onie chuckled as she hugged him back. "No, but you don't have to tell me."

"When? When can I leave?" Jessie asked as he hopped up started to pace. "I'll need to tell her. My God! We can't leave for town yet!"

She grinned impishly as she stood up and brushed back her hair. "I've already got you covered. You can leave whenever you want, and I already asked dad to let me go to town today to buy a few more syringes. You can send your letter and orders from there."

Jessie's smile reached from ear to ear as he punched the air with his fists in excitement. "You thought of everything!"

Onie shook her head. "Not really… only the essentials. So, ready to go?"

He gave her a look that said 'just try and stop me' before he grabbed her hand and headed out the door. "Oh yeah!"

**…**

Trowa nearly cringed when their hands touched. He had to stop himself from jerking away as he passed the test tube to her. Truthfully speaking, aside from the "Would you mind's…" or "Would you please's" he was correct with his assumptions- that they haven't really been _talking_ these past few days.  Granted, _he _didn't want to talk to her because… he just felt like it ever since he saw her and Jessie… but still! It was supposed to be him not talking to her. Why was it that she was also not talking to him? It was irritating him that she was using the exact tactic- though he did the tactic unconsciously- on him when he didn't do anything wrong!

"Would you mind if you fill this beaker up with water and then pour some of it into this test tube?" Onie asked as she handed him the beaker, one eye on him, the other on her work.

'There it was… the 'would you mind' start.' What else could he do but that? He walked to the faucet near lilies and the waterfall while Onie slyly checked him from the corner of her eyes.

'He's definitely been acting differently… I wonder why…?' She tapped her finger against the smooth marble mortar while she pondered on possible reasons—among other things. There was also that one _want_ ever since she saw that event with Midii… it was just tearing her apart! She could just… just… "Tristan…?" She swiveled in her chair and gulped in air before she could lose her courage.

'There's a turn of events…' Trowa blinked as he neared her, beaker in hand. Was this a start to a real conversation? He couldn't believe how much he was craving for such. Silent treatment be damned. "What is it?"

"I was wondering…" Onie looked away, suddenly embarrassed, and she didn't see the sudden wary look Trowa gave her. "I mean… You see… The thing is…"

'She's never been this shy before. Never.' Trowa observed as he stood there, waiting for whatever it was that might break this ice that suddenly surrounded them.

Onie took a deep breath and finally blurted- "Did you _like_ it?"

Trowa frowned, confused. "_Like_ what?"

"Uhm…"

'If she turned any redder… Why is she acting like this?' His wonder was growing by the second!

"That… thing…" Onie looked at her lap and started to pluck at her peach cloth. "You know… that thing that you did with your… lips… to that girl…?"

If he was able to control his confused look before, this time, he wasn't able to. "Excuse me?"

A second passed… Two… Three before she spoke, her hands fisting on her lap and her face tilting up to meet his. He was surprised at the sudden determination he saw in her chocolate brown eyes. 

"Forget it." Why was she asking how he felt about it when- "I don't really want to hear about it. I want to feel it on my own." She swallowed. 'Now… Ask now, before you let fear lead you once again…'

For lack of anything to do, and feeling rather stupid standing there for the longest time with the beaker, Trowa finally took a seat, grabbed a test tube and focused on pouring the water into the-

"Make love to me, Tristan."


	67. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 7

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Seven

By Heartfire

~*~

Trowa snapped his head up so fast, he was surprised he didn't get a whiplash, and then stared at her, not understanding the barrage of emotions he was feeling inside… but he knew one of them… he was definitely in… shock. 

The water overflowed from the test tube, spilled on his jeans, right where the zipper that hid his manhood was… uh…

Water trickled down his leg and to his sock and shoes while some splattered on the earth-

'I. Did. Not. Hear her say that… I must have fallen asleep… but even so, why would I dream this situation up…?'

"Tristan!" 

Even her shout didn't bring him back.

Onie quickly snatched some clean rags in the drawer. She grabbed the beaker and test tube in one quick sweep then she started to apply pressure on the soaked portion on Trowa's- 

_That_ took him back and he stared at Onie, patting his… Trowa gulped as he felt himself respond. Dear Lord! Why was he just sitting here and not doing anything?! As reality seeped through his numb mind, he reacted without thinking- he slapped her hand away… Hard.

"Ow!"

"What… What do you think you are doing?!" His awed voice came out in a half gasp and…  he knew his voice came out in that squeaky way when teenagers go through puberty! He gulped, trying to find where his voice went, and to wet his suddenly dry throat.

"I…" Onie massaged her hand, a bit red from Tristan's slap. "I was just trying to help. Did I do something wrong?" 

She looked up at him, her eyes so innocently clear that… Trowa knew she didn't know what she did. Dear Lord! Did she do something wrong?- she asked! Aside from the fact that she had just suggested that he make love to her and that she started touching him… and that he was… He looked down, and sure enough, he wished he had an apron to hide himself. Instead, he could only groan. He pushed his hand through his hair and pulled at a handful just to make sure he was awake. "You should not say or do things like… well… what you said and did."

Onie frowned and titled her head, thankfully, that arousing innocent look was gone, replaced by a very clear look of confusion. "I… shouldn't?"

Trowa quickly shook his head. "No." He couldn't believe he was giving her a lecture about this! Him! If Duo ever hears about this… What would Cathy say? At least he was pretty sure Quatre would smile. "You shouldn't say that you want to…" Dear God! His voice changed again! He swallowed then continued. "To make love with…" Him? "Anybody."

Her frown deepened. "I didn't say _anybody_… I said I wanted to make love with _you_." Onie emphasized on the last word, just to make sure he understood her.

Why did he kept on hearing those words from her?! The ringing in his ears must be affecting him. He couldn't have heard what he just heard… even if that was the second time he did hear it! "No! You don't." Dear Lord! He was sweating cold beads of water!

"I don't?" Onie stood up from her seat and took a step closer, her curiosity becoming a drive to… well… learn more. "I know what I feel. I know what I want. I want to feel it. I want you to-"

"Don't!" Trowa's panicked voice cried out as he grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wild with fear. "Don't say it!" He was yelling at her! Astonished with his current behavior, he stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. When some sort of heat and a tingling sensation started to creep up his fingers from the touch of her skin, he quickly took his hands away from her as though burned. 

"But I want to say it." Onie whispered, unable to comprehend why he was acting so… strangely. "I do not understand why it is so hard. You did it already with her." She looked away, suddenly embarrassed and a bit angry. "It isn't as if I'm asking you to… _kiss_ me…"

He was having trouble breathing. Kissing… His eyes strayed to her angrily pouted lips and he suddenly wondered why they seemed so tempting right that moment… Hormones! His hormones were wrecking havoc in him! Is this what midlife crisis truly is? But, he's not even in his thirties! Maybe he finally cracked. That's it! He's gone! By God! She doesn't want him to kiss her, but she wants to go straight to-  "Onie, you do not know what you're asking me to do." Trowa stopped his train of thought as he staggered backward, intending to put some space between them.

She sighed, feeling rather frustrated. In even tones, she tried to explain to this suddenly irrational man. "Why do you keep on saying that? Tristan. I am not asking you to salivate and strip naked with me. I am not ready for kissing. I am only asking you for one inconsequential act- for you to make love with me."

For some reason, this whole thing slowly started making sense to him. How that happened, he wasn't sure but he finally understood. The poor girl got things mixed up! Of course, that doesn't change the fact that he was aroused and that he _will not_ kiss her. "You've got it all wrong." Trowa said, plainly and clearly while he tried to will himself to gather back his wits.

"What do I have wrong, Tristan?" Onie asked, her voice akin to a mother's patient tones.

He still could not believe that he was explaining this one facet of life to her. Him! Of all people! "Kissing is what you do with the lips. Making love is where you strip naked with someone you love."

Onie quickly shook her head. "No. _You're_ the one who got it wrong." No wonder Tristan was acting so strangely! Poor man. The re-programming must have juggled his memory in more ways than one! "It's the other way around."

"No it isn't! That doesn't make sense!" Frustration and anxiety made his voice notch a bit higher and he found himself flailing his arms about while he made his point. "How could you say kissing is when you do something with someone you love when it is making love that has the word _love_ in it?"

Onie breathed in, counted to ten, then breathed out. She was getting angry with him. "I am not going to stay here and argue with you on this." Onie said in an even tone as she raised her chin.

"We. Are. Not. Arguing." Trowa muttered under his breath, his voice dangerously low. Arguing was what Cathy and Keith loved to do best! Loud voices, dishes flying in the air, and crying. There were none of those right now!

"Oh, for heaven's sake." She turned away from him, not feeling at all embarrassed that her request wasn't granted, and letting frustration be her guide to the door. "You only have to say that you don't want to make love with me. Humph… I am leaving you to let your steam out." 

"Now hold on there a minute!" Trowa growled as he walked after her, then he stopped. What was he doing? He let the entire event go through his mind, and sure enough, he found that he had behaved quite oddly. Very oddly… 

The door swished open and closed, and he was left inside the garden, wondering what devil had possessed him to act so unlike himself… and 'What in the world was this act Onie kept on repeating about his lips… and a girl?'

**…**

He never thought she would show it, but she did. He was annoyed, true, but he couldn't help but admire this transformed girl in front of him. Transformed by her anger. An anger that he always only saw on the surface but was, right now, turned on in full blast. Of course, she was trying to hide it. He always knew she had this hidden person in her. This life underneath the ever patient facade.

_Snip!_

She was so angry with him. Though she couldn't pin point why, she didn't mind reveling in this emotion. Yesterday, the disappointment she felt was heart wrenching. But that was all. She knew why. Had analyzed it and understood, so she accepted. But this morning, when she woke up and remembered what happened, she couldn't help the fire that ignited in her chest.

_Snip!_

How she wished it were his head instead that she was cutting off! 

_Snip!_

Her gardening shears cut off another stem of a white, five-petal flower bush, then without looking at him, she sauntered off to the other direction. He followed her. He had no other choice. The whole base was on red-alert and she was given specific orders by Dr. Blake not to go out- he specifically heard it. Yet, he was surprised when her eyes slanted after she walked out of Blake's office and muttered- 'We'll see about that!'

That was the first time he'd ever seen her go against Blake's order. She basically stomped off to her garden, gathered her tools then walked out of the glass door. Having eavesdropped during one of Dr. Jessie's staff's lunch conversations, he knew that there had been an explosion somewhere near. Later that day, he gathered whatever data he could from Onie's computer. There wasn't much, save that it was a helicopter. Whose? It didn't say, but there could be survivors out there. It was dangerous to venture out. So, the only logical thing to do was to go with her to protect her. 

_Snip!_

He knew she was mad, of course. After all, though she was civil that morning when she came inside the garden, she was giving out ice-cold signals. 'Of course,' he reasoned to himself, 'It is understandable. I mean, what kind of girl wouldn't be mad after she was turned down to be made love to?'

He should be flattered, but he was- mentally, Trowa pinched himself- embarrassed. _Very _embarrassed… All right… _More_ than _very _embarrassed! That was why he just kept silent.  When in doubt, keep silent. Yet, his usual plan was not helping him at all. The embarrassment was being coupled with annoyance, and admiration, and… damn tempting images that's been evoked and unleashed since yesterday's event! The hot sun overhead wasn't helping either!

Trowa's eyes couldn't help but follow the path that a small bead of sweat made as it trailed down from Onie's collarbone, down to between her average sized breasts… He swallowed, and quickly reprimanded himself as he looked away and pushed a surprisingly shaky hand through his thick, damp hair. He used to think that her breasts were small, that they weren't that attractive… Right now, though, it was driving him insane!

To keep his mind off her delicious- 'Stop it!' Trowa growled under his breath and didn't notice the questioning look Onie sent his way just as he focused his attention on _where_ they were. His brows drew in together as he noticed how far away they were from the compound. "Onie, I think we should-" he stopped while she held her scissors in midair as a distinctive rustle reached their ears. 

There was no wind. It was a very dry day, not a cloud in sight, and the couple looked at each other knowing that they were not alone. Mentally, Onie thanked Trowa for coming with her while Trowa protectively walked to her side and stayed put. 

"It could just be an animal…" Onie whispered as she, with Trowa right next to her, walked to where the sound originated. The quick glance she shared with him showed that Trowa doubted that possibility.

Together, they looked behind the tall bush of wild plants and kept on going, their feet light while their minds worked feasibilities. Minutes later, they saw a wooden roof.

"That's the military shed… I think we should turn back, Tristan." Onie whispered. This time, there was a note of panic in her voice. 

Trowa shook his head. There was something about this situation that needed probing… He continued, ignoring Onie's stopping hand on his arm. With a sigh of frustration, the young doctor followed him. 

Crouched low against a bush and a tree, they peered at the shed. Their view was obstructed but Trowa quickly brushed the leaves away then… his eyes widened. Behind him, Onie gasped in surprise…

"But… this is impossible…!" 

The incredulity in Onie's voice echoed that of Trowa's. He, too, found it impossible. How could it be…?

"It… can't…!" Onie looked from the shed to Tristan's face and for the first time in nearly ten years, an actual chill went down her spine…

'Midii…' He didn't know whether to be surprised, angry, or happy- no. Strike that last emotion out. He was anything but happy. He couldn't believe what his very eyes could see! It must be a mirage and yet… that irritating bug hasn't stopped buzzing against his right ear. 

He's usually subtle. _Very_. He prided himself with such a characteristic… although once he struck, subtle would be the last word to describe it. Right now, he knew subtlety wouldn't get the answers he's hoping for. 

 'Midii…'

There were questions to be answered… Now. Without another thought, Trowa made his move. 

Beside him, Onie reached out to stop him then paused. This was his fight, she could feel it, and there wasn't anything she could do for him but be there for him. 

Leaves rustled noisily as they stood up. In front of them, two pairs of closed eyes snapped in attention… then widened…

Crickets chirped in the background and the wind blew around them but it was silent enough to hear the first words uttered in barely a whisper-

"Trowa!" Midii gasped.

Onie frowned, confused as she repeated the unfamiliar name in her mind. 'Trowa?' 

"Trowa…?" asked the man whose arms were still around Midii's waist.

Midii started to wriggle out of his embrace- embarrassed and scared with her thoughts in a frantic flutter. "I- I can explain…"

Forest green eyes in slits, Trowa crossed his arms over his chest. "Then start explaining, Midii… because this time, you've got nowhere else to run." 

_{ Author's note: Hello to everyone. I deeply apologize for the length of time this took me to post. Really really sorry! I moved to another country with this job I got and it took some time for me to get my internet access AND to finally get my bearings adjusted to this society's culture (not to mention getting adjusted to the schedule I have) Then, when I was finally adjusted, my poor laptop broke down on me and had to be repaired… Unfortunately, even though I am in the country where my laptop originated from, this country is so technologically advanced that my 5 year old laptop's parts are hard to find and somewhat near to obsolete-ety.  So, again I apologize and wish you for your patience ^^ AND thank you for your continued attention. _

_Now that my formal apology is over—LET'S READ ON!!! ^_^ }_


	68. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 8

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Eight

By Heartfire

~*~

Midii frantically looked around her. She was outside the cabin but she felt as though she was inside a cramped jail! Her heart was beating so fast, it was starting to hurt. "I don't know where to start." 

Trowa's right eyebrow went up in sarcasm but the sudden movement from the man by Midii's side caught his attention. "Stay where you are."

"I don't understand this… I don't understand this at all…" Onie whispered as she stared from one man to the other. They were both wearing the same uniform, though the other man's clothes were dirtier than her Tristan's, but they have the same height… the same build, voice, face- even the style of hair…! Everything except the complexion was uncannily the same! Her hand went up to her forehead as she felt a very distinct tingle of pain.

Trowa's words, the tone they were said in and the hardness in his eyes didn't seem to affect the other man as he walked towards him with one hand outstretched as though to touch a ghost. "My God! It's you…! It's really… You!"  

The man stopped just a step away from Trowa to stare at him with wide-eyed wonder. "I'm almost afraid to touch you."

Trowa couldn't help the sensations he was feeling… it was eerily weird to be staring at someone who looked exactly like him… Exactly… His train of thought left him as he finally let that one thought he was trying to stop enter his mind. He has a twin! A twin brother!

"I've been searching for you everywhere! Now…" A sudden frown marred his happy face. "Wait…" He half turned towards Midii, his eyes accusing. "You knew him."

Midii slowly nodded then stared at a rock in front of her, unable to look at them. "I'm sorry, Tristan…"

'Tristan…?' Onie looked from one man to the other as she started to understand what was transpiring. "We've been infiltrated…!" She whispered in a shocked voice as she started to walk backwards, her loyalty to her father surging through her veins. Everyone was staring at her now, but before anyone could realize it, Tristan- the real one- was beside her with his hand clamped on her arm so hard that it hurt.

Seeing the look on her face, Trowa felt that rush of anger he was becoming so familiar to. "Let her go! You're hurting her!"

Tristan looked down at Onie's frightened eyes and eased his grip. "I'm sorry, doctor… but if I let you go now…"

She understood, all too clearly. Closing her eyes, she squared her shoulder and raised her chin. "Then kill me now."

Trowa felt a chill through him as he heard those words. He was about to shout the word- No!- ready to fight when Tristan let Onie go instead.

Confused, Onie looked up at Tristan and found a charmingly warm smile.

"I can't do that to the woman I owe my life to." 

"And mine." Midii whispered as she walked towards them from the cabin steps. 

Trowa frowned. 'What are they talking about?'

More confused than ever, Onie shook her head. "I am in the dark. I do not understand what either of you are saying."

"Then come inside the cabin and listen to our story, ma'am… I know you will make the right decision." Tristan whispered with trust in his eyes as he stretched his arm towards the cabin. "And I promise you that no harm will come to you."

They were the same eyes as her Tristan's- she mentally corrected herself- 'Trowa.' Forest green, yet she found where the two differ. Tristan's eyes were more alive than her Tristan-  'No, his name is Trowa.' The way Tristan smiled at her also showed that he bestowed that curve more often than her Tristan- 'His name is Trowa, Onie! Remember!' She let her gaze go from Tristan's eyes to the other. Trowa who, as usual, looked as though nothing was bothering him, but she knew him better than that. It wasn't that his eyes showed her, nor did his face betray anything, but something was asking her to stay and listen, and it was coming from him. She nodded and started to walk for the cabin.

Trowa watched as Midii waited for Onie halfway, then walked behind her. Tristan and Trowa stared at each other and then together, they started for the door.

The cabin was small, clean, and very bare. A small table with three chairs separated a space and a kitchen where only the very essentials of cooking utensils were visible- and that consisted of only a tin cooking pan and a spoon. Obviously, the space on the other side of the table was where Tristan slept because of a thin blanket with a rolled up tattered jacket to serve as a pillow.

Midii and Onie were already seated on the chairs when the two men entered. Tristan offered the last seat with a wave, but Trowa shook his head. 

"I prefer to stand up."

"So do I." Tristan answered with a grin. When his smile wasn't answered, Tristan seemed unfazed as he turned to the two women, gave them both a small smile, then schooled his face to seriousness. "Who should begin…?"

A tense silence covered them. Everyone looked from one to the other until Trowa propped himself on the wall beside the cabin door and crossed his arms. "I want Midii to start."

"Fine." Tristan shrugged as he leaned against the other wall beside the door and did Trowa's pose in a manner that seemed to come naturally to him. 

Everyone's eyes swiveled to Midii who looked down at her hands. This was it. The confession she had been running away from. She owed it to Trowa… "My father died a few years ago… I learned that my little brother was sent to a mental hospital only a few months earlier than that, and my other brother had died in the war… There are only a few people I held dearly in my heart at that time… them, and…" Midii looked up from her hands and met Trowa's eyes. "You." His eyes didn't soften as she revealed what she had kept. Loosing her courage, she looked down at her hands once again and let her blonde hair shield her face. 

Onie bit on her lower lip as she looked from Midii to Trowa, and then to Tristan who had the same undaunted mask as his twin.

"I'm sorry, Tristan…" Midii whispered as she let more blonde hair fall on her face to hide.

"Don't be… I don't mind that you had feelings for my brother." Tristan whispered.

The way he was looking at Midii made Onie want to shake Midii and tell her to look at him instead of her hands.

"Go on, Midii." Trowa muttered, lost in his own roller coaster of emotions.

"Since it seemed that I have lost everything, I turned to drugs and alcohol. I've tried them all… One night, overdosed in both, I passed out on the street. The next thing I knew when I woke up was being in a dark cell. I could hear so many people screaming and crying."

Onie closed her eyes as she remembered her dreams… her memories. She could hear the terror in Midii's voice. She could feel it. 

"After a few weeks, two men took me out of my cell and strapped me to a chair." She breathed a sigh of relief as a burden was lifted from her heart. They were right. Confessions do make a person feel better. She looked up from her hands and met their eyes. "My memories after that are a bit hazy. It felt as though I was looking down on myself, seeing everything around me but not being a part of anything."

Another blanket of silence surrounded them, until Trowa inclined his head toward Tristan. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he asked. "And you?"

Tristan's right eyebrow shot up inquiringly. "You mean how did I get here?"

Trowa gave a tight nod.

He shrugged. "I'm a freelance journalist doing a documentary on homeless, poverty stricken people. I dressed the part, hanged out in the proper- or in this case, improper- places. One night, there was a brawl where I was." Tristan shrugged again as he remembered that night. "I was trying to fight my way out of it and then someone gave me a wicked right hook and I passed out. Next thing I knew, like Midii…" He grimaced as he remembered those long hours where you could hear a scream of terror for every waking moment. "I was in a dark cell… a few days later, they strapped me…" He could remember the electricity that ran through his body. It hurt so much. His skull seemed to have been cracked open and his brain pounded. "The memories after that are fuzzy and almost like an out of body experience."

"I still don't understand where I fit in with all this…" Onie whispered as she looked from Midii to Tristan. 

Trowa bit his tongue. He almost asked the same question, but pertaining to him. Of course, the answer to this one, he doesn't mind knowing either.

Tristan looked at Midii then nodded as though acknowledging a silent message. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other then started. "You see, doc, I remember the day when I was ordered to your section. You gave us something that day… I know I fell asleep after that because when I opened my eyes, I was lying on a small bed and Midii was staring at me." He smiled at Midii as he remembered that moment. "I didn't mind waking up after that."

Midii shyly answered his smile with one of hers. "Of course, you must realize now that I thought I was staring at your brother, Trowa, at that time."

Tristan nodded. He could tell that Midii wanted everything cleared between them. Funny, but he wasn't at all jealous of Trowa. He could tell that Midii was over him, and that for the past days and weeks that they've been together, he knew what Midii feels for him- not his brother, but him. "I don't mind. He bought you to me." 

Midii's eyes shone. That response was something never to be expected from Trowa. She was most definitely in love with the wrong twin a long time ago.

Onie softly smiled. These were two people who were meant to be. Then, it hit her… "Oh my…! It worked…!" She slumped against her chair just as Midii and Tristan nodded. "My serum worked…!"

"I remembered hearing you whisper- 'I wish I could make you remember'- that day when you came in and found Midii and I awake. We agreed not to act differently for the best and I knew then that you were making a serum to make us remember. You were, weren't you?" Tristan asked as he walked to the table and leaned over Onie.

She nodded. "I was… but you two acted as though nothing happened that I thought…"

"You wanted the people inside the compound to remember, don't you? You want them to have their lives back…" Tristan prodded on as he leaned over some more towards Onie.

Trowa frowned, trying to make sense out of this situation.

"I don't… I didn't think it was fair…" Onie whispered as she let the wave of realization, that wave of accomplishment, wash over her. "You should never be deprived of the most precious memories of your parents… of your childhood…"

Tristan pounded on the table, his smile reaching ear to ear. "I knew it! I knew it! You're on our side!" 

Onie's eyes widened. 'Their side…?' Guilt replaced accomplishment. She had betrayed her father if she were on their side… 'My God… What have I done…?' Before she could think of anything else, Trowa spoke up.

"And which side is that?"

Tristan was about to speak when Midii stopped him with her hand on his arm. Once again, the couple looked at each other, then nodded and Tristan sat down on one of the chairs while Midii met Trowa's gaze.

"We want to save the people inside the compound. After we got our memories back, we tried to re-acquaint ourselves with the compound. By observing the doctor," Midii glanced at Onie quickly, then turned her attention back at Trowa, "We learned about the secret passage in the glass. We found this cabin during one of the Thursday drills. We found out about the reason why there was always music at night and that the only place where there wasn't was the garden section. We planned everything to the minuscule detail, but when we were about to steal the files, Tristan got hurt with a security program we thought we've overridden. We had to escape. I needed someone to cover Tristan's tracks while he got well…"

"And you picked me." Trowa answered, finally getting the whole story after waiting for so long. 

"Midii… why didn't you tell me about my brother? You knew that I've been looking for him." The look on Tristan's face asked for an answer.

Midii reached out and touched his hand. "I'm really sorry… I just couldn't… and later on, after I bought him here and I told you that everything's been taken care of… if I had told you about him, I knew you would have risked your life to see him… and that would have jeopardized everything."

Tristan nodded. "I understand… I think…" He looked at Trowa then smiled once again. "So tell me, what were mother and father like?"

He was still reeling from the fact that he had a twin brother and now, this? "I don't know… I've never met them."

At that, Tristan frowned. "But… my parents told me that… you're supposed to be with them… They told me that they tried to adopt us both, but my dad said that our parents said…" A lost look fell on his face. "I don't understand why you don't know them… You're supposed to be with them…"

"What did your father say our parents told them?" Trowa asked. For years, he wondered who he was… why he was alone… now he learned that he had a brother… could it be that he was taken away from his parents?

Still with a frown on his face, Tristan answered. "My dad said that our parents said something like… 'It's hard enough to part with one of our children… don't take the other away from us too.'- something like that." Tristan sighed, dreams of meeting their parents flying away with no chance of catching it. "I know that we were poor… that's why our parents let my parents adopt me… they thought it was for the best…"

"They told you everything?" Trowa asked with barely a hint surprise…

Tristan nodded. "They were upfront with me… and I love them. I've been searching for our family since I could remember… I've been to every circus that came to town… looked for others- Trowa! Are you all right?" Tristan asked as he jumped from his chair and ran to his brother's side just in time to catch Trowa as he swayed to the ground.

Trowa's throat was suddenly dry. His skin felt clammy and a headache the size of the universe was pounding on his skull. "Did you say… circus?" He couldn't understand why he was reacting to that word in such a way. He never had, before. He saw Tristan utter a word… a word he could understand though he suddenly couldn't hear. Then everything around him swirled and he almost couldn't breathe…

"Tristan!" Onie shouted in alarm as she stood from the chair.

Tristan glanced at her as he pulled his brother's body against him, half dragging, half carrying him to his makeshift bed. "What?!"

"I-" Onie looked from Tristan to Trowa. "I meant… I meant Trowa… I'm sorry…" 

Tristan grunted as he let Trowa go and Midii arranged his body.

"It's okay. I understand." Tristan answered as he knelt down beside his brother and tried to smoothen the frown on his face. "I think he's got some unfinished business… deep in that mind of his."

"Don't let him sleep. He'll have a nightmare." Onie whispered as she stepped closer to the huddled group. 

He shook his head as Trowa moaned. "There are some nightmares we need to dream of… Sometimes, it has the answers we've been searching for…"

His words touched something in her heart and Onie turned away and stared outside the window. He was right… Darkness was falling on them- "It's late... I need to go."

"Doc…" Tristan whispered, calling her attention. Onie looked at him and she saw the question in his eyes. "Are you on our side…?"

She couldn't answer. Not yet. Not this way. "I don't know… But I can promise you one thing… I will not divulge you until I've decided."

Tristan nodded then looked at Midii. "I think you need to go back with her."

"Yes, of course." Midii leaned over to him and Onie inclined her head to the outside view just as the couples' lips touched.

The next thing Onie knew, Midii was beside her and asking if she was ready to go. She didn't turn back to look at Trowa… She couldn't, not with the knowledge that she must make a decision soon… a decision that she would have to live with until death.

**…**

No sooner had she gone inside her room to change did her main door swished open, startling her.

"Sir!" Onie cried in surprise, nearly stumbling on her carpet. "What are you doing here?" Inside, she was felt as though a huge black hole was slowly eating her up.

Blake felt himself want to ask her- 'Can't a father say goodnight to his daughter?' Instead, he scuttled to his safety net- their work. "I was going to ask how your S-7 is progressing."

"I've adjusted some ingredients. I need a last two specimen tomorrow to work with and I believe it is going to be a success, sir."

"Good… Well… Good night then."

Onie nodded. "Good night, sir."

Blake gave a mental sigh as he turned around and the door closed behind him. What a lousy parent he was…

Inside her room, Onie's fist clamped upon her chest. Her heart was pounding erratically and she was feeling more than a tad of nausea. All thoughts of going to bed flew from her mind and she sighed in sadness as she walked back to her garden. 

There was only one thing she had never let Trowa see… She pushed a dent underneath the front drawer on her desk, let her thumbprint be scanned, then her real laboratory opened before her. The rows of test tubes, of bright white light and pristine white walls… the automatic burner and heater. Everything she needed. With Trowa gone for the night, she could work in here again.

**…**

He could see everything…  from above… and yet he could also see everything from below. He was surrounded by fire. It hurt. It scorched. Something cracked overhead, and he looked up. His eyes widened as a burning log started to sway towards him.

He shielded his eyes with his small hands, readying for the pain… but it never came. Instead, he was pushed out of the way.

There was a man underneath a burning log. He was unconscious…

'Daddy…' 

He tried to pull him out of it. His dad's hands were so big… He couldn't do it. He huddled beside his daddy's face, his vision starting to blur… Then something dark and fast ran through the fire… Something bit him on his arm and pulled… He didn't want to go without daddy. Stop! Please… Daddy! No!

"NO!" Trowa sat up on the floor, breathing heavily. He was sweating like a horse that just finished a race. His hair was plastered on his face. Trowa pushed his hand through it, forced the locks away from his eyes then he let his hands fall on his lap and stared at them… he was shaking. 

"Care to tell me what you dreamt of?"

That was his voice… Was he going crazy? He quickly turned around and saw himself, sitting Indian-style on the floor, just a few spaces away from him… No… wait… Now he remember… Tristan Brigham. "My past. Something I've forgotten for a long time…" Why was he talking? Was it because this man was his brother? Was it because he feels as if he was finally a part of something?

"What was it about?" Tristan asked again, wanting to get to know this man in front of him.

"Our dad…"

Silence encompassed them. After a few more minutes of it, Tristan moved…

"Oh…"

Without any prompting, Trowa spoke as he stared at the moon outside the small window. It was nearly gone, a new moon… "He died in a fire… You were right. We were in a circus… At least, it looked like a circus. He died, trying to save me… and…" Trowa looked at his hands again. "And I couldn't help him… I couldn't pull him from the log…" His vision blurred and slowly, he felt tears slide down his cheek… and he let them go. He couldn't stop the tears that overflowed. The tears he held for his dad for so long…

Tristan bit his lower lip, then shifted his weight. "Ah damn…" He pushed himself to his knees, then kneel-walked towards Trowa and hugged him. "I know this feels weird… I'm not much of this either with men… but… you're my brother. You're my twin. That's more special than just a plain brother."

Trowa, for the life of him, let Tristan hold him… He leaned into his embrace and let his tears flow. He had a family… He wasn't unwanted… He was lost and now, they found each other again…

"You've probably been through much more than I have, but we're here now… I've just found you and I'm not about to let you go again, Trowa. I'm going to get to know you. I'm going to be a pest to you. We're twins… we're supposed to be together."

Trowa felt Tristan's arms give him a squeeze and he… he hugged him back.

"Nothing can separate us now." Tristan whispered as he felt tears fall from his eyes… "Even if one of us dies in the future, at least we know each other now, and we know that we'll always be with the other."

**…**

 She woke up early the next day, with her head upon her laboratory table. Slowly, she sat up as she ran the day's schedule. Father will arrive before noon. Trista- Trowa, she corrected herself, should be here… She must go back to the cabin to wake him and take him back here before Father starts asking questions!

With a goal in mind, she hurried through her morning rituals, and in no time at all, she was knocking on the cabin door. She should have expected both of them to answer the door, but she still couldn't stop the gasp of surprise that left her when she saw the mirror images. 

"Er… I'm sorry to disturb you both so early…" She looked at the one on the left, not sure why, but positive that it was- "Tristan," then she looked to the right and nodded as impartially as she could- "Trowa," She practiced all night to pronounce his name. Thank God she didn't call them both Tristan! "I must bring one of you back with me to the center. Mr. Blake is bringing me some people and… he will be looking for… er… either of you."

"I'm ready." Trowa answered as he started to button up his black coat over his white shirt. 

"Hey, Trowa…" Tristan touched Trowa's arm to catch his attention. Eye to eye, and with a smile, Tristan gave Trowa a light punch. "You be careful now."

Onie almost smiled at the… tender sight. She could tell that they have bonded during the night. 

Trowa nodded, not sure what to say. "Uhm… Thanks…" Then he walked out of the door, aware that Onie was just right behind him. Mentally, he remembered the long, late talk he had with Tristan… it was mostly a monologue from Tristan- Tristan Triton Brigham… and there were more silence than expected, but overall, it was a nice night. He almost smiled when he remembered when Tristan said- "I wonder who's older… I bet it's me. I'm taller than you." Uncharacteristically, he answered back- "You wish." And there started a light banter between them. 

"How does it feel…? Having a brother?"  Onie asked as she walked beside him.

'Nice.' Trowa bit that response back and shrugged instead. "I don't know yet."

"Oh…" Onie looked away. "I just thought… never mind." She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she spurred her feet to walk faster. She finally concluded that she would be impartial to what's happening until she could figure out her mixed feelings. Tristan was asking her to choose between her father and… and what? What? She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "To the business at hand… I'd like you to go to the gym and stay there until I call for you… This will give you some time for yourself and… well…" She couldn't help the cough that left her throat. "Straighten a bit of what's in your mind."

Trowa nodded. He was surprised that she seemed to have read what was in his mind- he wanted some peace and quiet, and where else could he get that but from the gym, especially since the garden was going to be occupied. 

They reached the invisible entrance to Onie's garden, and neither of them had time enough to change or get their bearings back when the door from the hall opened. 

"Sir!" Onie nearly cried out in shock, barely hiding the fact that she had the door behind her.

Blake looked in the direction of her voice and nodded, noting the circles under her eyes. "Late night?"

Onie nodded, swallowing the guilty gulp in her throat. "Yes sir… I'm just sending 874 for a work out."

Without any prompting, Trowa walked past Blake and out of the garden. He hated leaving Onie behind like that, with that madman, but he couldn't blow his cover more than he already had. He still didn't know what Onie's role was in this whole shenanigan, there were no files on her at all, but at least he knew that she was kind at heart.

**…**

Onie sullenly walked into her garden, not even noticing the way Trowa sat up on 'his side' of the room to watch her plop down on the sofa in the middle of the garden. She closed her eyes and prayed- 'Please let this work… please let this work…' She hadn't realized how tired she was of this. She was tired of this whole thing. She was tired of the non-stop working, of not having anyone… of having such a dull, boring life. 

"Long day?" Trowa looked outside at the late afternoon sun, halfway through its journey back to the earth. She looked so spent. Onie nodded without opening her eyes and Trowa had the sudden inkling of combing his hand through her long, black hair and massaging her temples… He blinked himself out of his dream when he realized that he was really close to touching her hair! Putting his hands behind him and tightly linking them together, he curiously looked around the room. "What exactly did you do?"

A frown marred Onie's forehead before she turned to her side, away from him, and curled into a protective ball. "Just leave me alone right now…" She always feels drained every time she inserts any of her serum into 'specimens'. She always feels dirty. 

Trowa's hands itched to touch her, but he was never one to force himself upon a woman. "All right… I…" Was he actually asking for her permission?! "I'm going to Tristan." He almost said that in one long breath, but she didn't seem to notice his discomfort as she nodded wearily. He hated leaving her like this, but his brother… his only family, the only true link to his past, was waiting and he was craving for what many would call- Family Time.

Onie heard him leave silently and she felt a mixture of anger and sadness… She was thinking that he should have stayed and consoled her- that's what Jessie would have done… but then, that was being selfish of her, and who was she in his life? She was not a relative, nor anyone special… Not in anyone's life. "No one's life at all…" She sighed one last time before she forced herself to sleep, wishing she wouldn't wake up.

She drifted off to sleep before she heard the door to her garden hiss open then close. A shadow loomed over her, watching her sleep like many times before. 

**…**

Blake sighed as he pushed a stray lock of black hair away from her face. How long could he keep the dangerous world at bay for his little daughter's innocence from being tarnished? For her safety? He must admit, accepting Matthew as a doctor wasn't one of his better decisions, but he had no other choice, and everyday, he suffered from wondering what lies that doctor could have told his daughter.

"Laurette…" He whispered his wife's name again like a prayer for protection. The same old pain crushed his heart. It was a wound left to rot and eat his flesh, if it were a flesh wound… but it was worse than a flesh wound… His soul ached for his wonderful wife… a wife stolen from him by the world he'll be sure to wash of its sins.

"Why did it have to be you…?" Blake asked his daughter's sleeping form, for at that moment, she truly did look like her mother. He relived the agony of searching for her for almost three weeks… then when they finally found her body… battered and… Blake shook his head, as if the very act could force the image and pain he felt from that day. He shivered and tried to control his emotions. 

"I won't let anything like that happen to you," he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss upon Onie's forehead. "When you walk out in the world… you will never have to fear the dark, or the people around you."

Satisfied, Blake stood up and walked toward her room. He was going to hear her diary. He was curious to know what his daughter have been through these past few days. 

The door slid closed behind him and he looked around his daughter's room, wanting so much to be a part of her life, but not knowing how to be. He took the hidden compact disk and inserted it into the small player he carried with him, sliding down to sit on her chair and to let his sweet daughter's voice flow over him.

**…**

"Good night, Trowa." Tristan grasped his brother's arm in that everlasting tradition of a friend's handshake, then he pulled his brother forward, unable to stop the happiness to finally have found his real family at bay. 

Trowa felt the big, enthusiastic hug from him, that all too hearty slap on the back that almost felt like a pounding fist, and then that quick ruffling of his hair. He felt like grinning and wrestling his brother to the floor, but they weren't kids anymore. And he wasn't used to such a display of emotions. The nearest he could give his brother was a tight, one hand hug… To anybody else, the act would have looked inadequate, but Trowa felt… no, he knew that Tristan understood how much of a step he gave just by returning a simple hug.

"You take care there, now…" Tristan whispered before another energetic blow came on his twin's back, and then he let him go.

Trowa swallowed then forced the words from his mouth. "You too, Tristan." The wide, unhindered smile that Tristan bestowed him made Trowa want to return the favor by smiling along… but he was too choked with emotions. He turned away, sad to leave his brother but also a bit eager to return to Onie's garden. He relived his afternoon spent with Tristan. His twin sure talked a lot, telling him of his adventures whenever he was on an assignment- or rather, misadventures. Trowa spoke, but only to prompt his brother to speak more about himself. He realized how much he craved to know this person who looked so much like him… just then, he noticed the marker Onie had agreed to place near the entrance to their invisible lair and his train of thoughts made a slight turn for the one he knew would be waiting for him.

The door slid open and close without a noise and he stepped inside, careful of his movements. The garden's lights weren't turned on, save for the dim desk light where, as he had expected, Onie was at. 

He was about to make his usual clearing-the-throat sound when she turned sideways and Trowa caught side of the thing within her grasp… a gun. It looked new, and the fact that it was glinting menacingly only added substance to his thoughts. When she turned the gun in her hands, his heart nearly stopped while his mind questioned why she had a gun… what she was planning to do with-


	69. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 9

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Nine

By Heartfire

~*~

His train of thought left him when he saw her aim the gun to her chest and he had all that he could take. He thought he was out of practice, but he moved as swiftly as the way he did during the war and he was beside her before anyone could even take a full breath of air, at the same time, had easily wrestled the gun from her hands.

Onie gave a startled gasp. "Wha-?!" She nearly fell off her stool, managed to balance her weight against the table and stared up at Trowa's… very angry countenance!  Onie glared at him but before she could demand what he thought he was doing so he was able to speak first.

"Don't you ever, ever do that again." His voice was eerily calm and soft that one could almost think he wasn't at all angry, but one look at his usual expressionless eyes, and Onie flinched as though she had touched a burning flame. He was angry with her, furious, in fact was the best word to describe it. Yet, she couldn't understand why… 

Trowa couldn't believe the raging fire in him. It was consuming… he could… he could… damn! He could hit her! He was practically seeing red! Instead, he imagined wringing her average neck while he crushed the pistol in his hands.  He couldn't understand her willingness to just die in such a manner! Was she so selfish that she would willingly leave the people who counted on her behind in this way?! Was she so uncaring that she would leave her plants?! Was she so utterly crazy that she couldn't care how others might feel?! Didn't she know that she was… that she was… 

The sense of unadulterated anger left him, replaced by a cold wave of anxiety as he finished his sentence… 

She was precious. 

Onie shifted away from Trowa while he looked down on her as though for the first time. It was making her nervous, the way all these emotions were wild in his eyes. It was so unlike him… It was not the Trowa she knew.

"Never do that again. Do you understand?" 

His voice was barely a whisper, but it seemed as though he had shouted at her. He was practically only an inch away from her face and she had that cowardly feeling of leaning backwards on her seat, but she couldn't understand that sense of… haughtiness that overcame her as she titled her chin up, squared her shoulders and… erringly whispered instead of shouting- "You don't have to talk to me as though a child."

That, she wasn't. And he was more than aware of it… Had been, these past few weeks… She needn't remind him. 

"Besides," her tone strengthened, though she still spoke softly. "What right have you to just grab that from me? It could have blown someone's head off. Specifically, mine!"

Trowa frowned as he digested the words and her insolent tone. "Then…" His tight hold upon the pistol loosened as he stared straight into her eyes. "You weren't…"

"Weren't what?" Onie frowned in confusion.

Trowa swallowed and forced the words from his lips. "About to shoot your self?"

Her expression turned from confusion to surprise. "Why should I? I haven't finished my work here, and besides," She wrinkled her nose as she looked around her garden. "I have no intention of spilling my blood and guts in my garden. My plants will die with no one to take care of them."

Relief flooded through him, and then unadulterated happiness as he repeated her words in his mind. He wasn't only glad that she wasn't going to shoot herself, but it was so like her to worry about her work and her garden instead of herself, even through the process of killing herself- which she wasn't going to do- that he moved before he could check his actions. 

He only had to lean down. Her lips were already there. Those full lips that had so enchantingly caught his attention were ready for plucking… 'More than ready,' Trowa thought as her lips opened in a gasp. He took advantage of the opportunity presented to him and placed his weight on his hands at either side of her. 

He was frustrated at her, he would argue later, he was angry and he wanted to teach her a lesson. Yet a small voice would also answer back- _what lesson_ was there to be taught by touching his lips with hers? And in such… intimacy?

Trowa could feel her innocence as his tongue outlined her full lower lips and it just tempted him more to explore her. She was stiff and hadn't moved since the seconds ago when he had first touched her, but instead of peeling away with a dampened mood, he was aroused instead. He could very well be the first man to kiss her and he was damn proud of it! He aimed for one thing- to garner a reaction from her.

His lips slanted upon hers, his tongue still languishing with lining her lips. He was beginning to feel heady, as though intoxicated. 

God! She was addictive! And she had yet to move under him! Reason started to knock some sense into his idiot of a mind, though his body was slow to follow. Slowly, he drew back, feeling disappointment like no other that she hadn't responded-

A sound of protest left Onie's lips when his lips left hers, and this time it was Trowa's turn to gasp in surprise when she trapped his face with her small hands and planted her lips on his. His surprise turned to pleasure when she hesitantly touched her tongue on his lower lips and re-enacted the same trick he had given her. But Trowa hadn't expected the fierce sweetness that overcame him from her touch. He hadn't expected to be so easily be swayed by a woman… or to be so easily tempted that he didn't let her finish outlining his lips with her tongue… instead, he met hers with his own. 

She uttered a strangled moan in the back of her throat.

Passion. 

He had almost convinced himself that it was a fairy tale for him. That he would never know it in his lifetime, and yet here he was, lost within its velvety feel… her feel… with his control on the verge of slipping.

Her hands traveled from his cheeks to the back of his neck, holding him in place, twining her hands in his locks and he…? He enjoyed it. He reveled in it as he began to let his hands roam her shoulders, the back of her neck, her soft hair and that curve of her neck.

She sighed blissfully in his mouth- or was that him who sighed? He wanted to move closer to her but her knees were in the way. Yet, as though she could read his thoughts, her knees opened and he took a step closer to her, eliminating even the merest hint of distance between them… and shocking them both when, akin to a jigsaw puzzle, their cores touched and locked into place.

"Oh!"

"Dear Lord!" 

Their lips broke contact to utter the words and Trowa was so painfully aware of where he was… of their position. She, upon a stool with her legs wide open for him, and he within the embrace of those legs. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to move his body- not that he wanted to- and when he looked into her hazy eyes, he knew that she knew something was on the verge of happening between them… that she could feel him.

Her lips were still open in a cute small 'oh!' then it closed and he saw her swallow quite obviously. He did the same. He saw a blush begin to gather on her face and he so wanted to kiss both her rosy cheeks. 

Dear Lord! Kiss her cheeks?! He was about ready to ravish her upon her table! No—her chair! If she had not been wearing this damn unflattering uniform, he was sure they would have gone farther along in the act.

A sense of guilt began to worm in his heart before he could stop it. She was an innocent and he took advantage of her. Though he hadn't moved from his place, he began to stutter. Stutter! He was more affected than he had thought! "I… I a-apologize…"

Curious, confused, chocolate brown eyes peered up at him. "Should I be, too?"

He suddenly wanted to know if she was. "Are you?"

Silence encompassed them. They were still entwined in a loose hug, their lower bodies intimate, and he desperately needed to hear her answer. She met his eyes with utter seriousness and thank God she shook her head.

"I am not. Is it wrong not to feel apologetic after what…" her blush became more pronounced but she forced herself to say it. "We have done?"

Trowa nearly fell on his knees and buried his face into her hands. Instead, he couldn't help himself as he touched her face, cupped her chin in his palms, and outlined her cheeks with his thumbs. Mentally, he thanked whatever spirits have helped him for such a precious answer while physically he shook his head. It would be a cold day in Hades before he could tell her that it was wrong. It had felt so right! "It is not wrong."

"Then, why did you apologize?" Onie reached out to imitate his actions, stroking his cheeks, his eyebrows, the frame of his face…

"I wasn't thinking," Trowa whispered as he stilled his hands and let his eyes do the caressing.

Having a befuddled mind herself, she half smiled. "Yes," her fingers trailed a path from his eyebrows, down his cheeks, and then to his lips. Her breath hitched as she started to outline his lips with her right index finger. "It is quite hard to think… at the moment."

'Verily,' Trowa thought to himself, not expecting the sigh that left his lips. God! Her finger was hardening him so fast it was laughable! Yet, he couldn't stop himself as he kissed her finger when it stopped upon the middle of his lips, then licked it.

Her reaction, that darkening in her eyes, made him smile softly, and while staring at her to gauge her reaction, he opened his lips and took her finger in. Her eyes widened, startled, then she shivered and Trowa nearly laughed in delight when she uncurled her middle finger and touched his lips… offering it.

He took her offering and played with them with his tongue. Her lips had dropped open and she closed her eyes in pleasure as she breathed in deeply with each stroke. But he wasn't at all unaffected, as he thought he would be and with each labored breath she took, his thoughts became more indecent than ever. 

'Dear Lord, help me!' He thought as he slowly let her fingers go. Her eyes opened, darker and more sinful than the sweetest chocolates, and he had to swallow and breathe for almost a minute to bring his control to surface. "Maybe we should sit down."

Onie wondered if she should agree to that, though she was quite comfortable where she was at the moment. Then a thought struck her that Trowa had just come from her brother and he had been standing for the longest of time in front of her. Thinking only of easing his probably tired legs, she nodded. 

Trowa stamped on the protest of his body when he walked out of her legs' embrace and found that he couldn't quite fathom letting her go as yet. He held out his palm to her, hoping against hope that she would place her hand upon his, and when she did, so trustfully, his heart sang another song of joy.

They walked silently to the couch. Trowa didn't need his imagination to know that the couch was the worst place they should be- not adding his bed- but he told himself that he would not have her tonight. This wasn't the time or the place. So, with great control, they sat upon the couch.

When Onie turned to him to snuggle at his side, he let his control slip a bit to place an arm around her shoulders.

"Tell me what you've been doing all day." She whispered as she laid her head at the crook of his neck.

For all his lusty thoughts, he was surprised that he was actually starting to calm down, surprised that he was, for the moment, content to just embrace her… surprised that he had opened his mouth and told her about his day.

**…**

"Good…" Blake whispered down at the sleeping couple in the couch who looked very comfortable in each other's arms. "Very good of you to end it before it could begin." He whispered again, dangerously low. He looked like a man of utter relaxation, but the shaking fists, one clutching a silvery point, belied his anger.

He saw the whole thing. He had been disturbed to hear his daughter's wonderings about kisses and making love. He had nearly walked into the garden when he spotted the two of them, Brigham nearly devouring her.

His sweet daughter. She does not need Brigham! He would taint her! He could tell that he wasn't under his influence anymore. Any man who showed that much ardor was not under any type of brainwashing. Yet, who would have been able to overcome his programming?!  Who could have bypassed his-

An image flittered in his mind, and he knew that he found the one. "Jessie Matthew."

He nearly broke the object in his hand. After taking a couple of breaths, he leaned down to the couple, syringe in hand, then unceremoniously inserted the tip of the needle into Tristan Brigham's arm. 

The damn man jerked then became motionless. 

Blake walked to the main door of the garden, opened it, then let in two soldiers, giving out his order in a low voice to not wake his daughter. He watched as the soldiers picked Tristan Brigham up, then he led the way, half planning how to torture Tristan, and half planning how and to whom he should implement the new program James Morley had sent his way.

**…**

Her hands traveled to her right as she tried to find that warmth that had kept her so comfortable throughout the night. When she only found emptiness, she opened her eyes wide in surprise. 

"Trowa…?"

She looked around her and saw that he wasn't in the garden. An icy hand wrapped itself around her heart but she forced herself to think clearly. Onie looked outside and measured the sun. It was nearing lunchtime. Knowing how early Trowa wakes up, and how anxious he has been to keep the company of his brother, she finally figured that he had left to go to Tristan.

A small smile curved on her lips as she walked around her garden, noting which flowers were blooming and inhaling their wondrous scents. Last night was… 

Her small smile became dreamy as she sat down next to a lily by the waterfall. There were no words to describe last night. What feelings had rushed through her. A wonder that she was still able to breathe and walk right now! She wrapped her arms around her as a- what she could only describe as a giggle left her lips. Then slowly, she brought her right hand up in front of her face, curled her fingers to her palm, save for her index and middle fingers, and remembered how he had them inside his lips.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, revived his face in her memory, then touched her fingers to her lips. It wasn't the same, but it was something, and she sighed blissfully.

"So that was making love…" she whispered as she leaned over to her small pool to look at her reflection on the water. "Lamoure… de amo… ashima… ai…" She murmured the words, unable to stop herself.

She was so surprised at her own boldness last night, imitating his actions. Ah! Jessie would be proud of her, and she was too. She felt proud of what she did last night… a bit embarrassed and scared, anxious, too, but she wouldn't have traded a single moment of it.

How perfect today would have been if she had only woken up in his arms, but then, she could very well understand Trowa's need for family, too.

Idly, she stroked a white lily's petal as she thought of him and wondered if he would make love to her again tonight… She was naïve and innocent enough to believe that he would, after all, he did so last night.

**…**

He slowly regained consciousness… It would have struck him odd that he did not come to a full awareness of his surroundings, if his mind was only not so sleep numbed. He moved his hands and found that he couldn't. 

'What… is… going on?'

Even forming a coherent sentence was hard! And his mouth feels so dry! This was not at all how he had expected to wake up after a night of Onie's kisses- heady as they were. His head started to throb, and he thought he heard a man announce that he was coming to.

Trowa tried to open his eyes and found that he had such a hard time doing so. When he finally did, he had to close it once again, the light around him so bright he thought he might go blind!

That was when he felt that jaw-shattering blow. He gasped, both in surprise and pain, not expecting it at all. He tried to open his mouth to talk but found he was too weak, and his jaw too numbed, to do so.

Someone was saying something to him, but the ringing in his ears wasn't at all helping him to understand. Then, he felt irritation from the one in front of him and he steeled himself from another blow.

His instinct was correct in leading him to harden his muscles, but the kick in his stomach was still painful. The one that came next was just as much and he felt blood spill from his cottony mouth.

He was gasping for air… he almost couldn't breathe. Where was he? What was going on? Where was Onie-

A whack at the back of his head, so savagely infused, made his body slack and he felt himself fall back into the numb darkness.

**…**

She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She had been waiting for him, bathed and dressed in her favorite gown, and he still hasn't gotten back home!

Onie paced through her garden then stopped. Maybe she shouldn't be worried or angry. After all, Trowa and Tristan only found each other once again. Of course they are entitled to be selfish with each other. She knew she would like to spend her waking moments with her sister or brother, if she ever had one, and most especially if it were a twin!

A bit more relaxed than she had been a bit ago, she walked back to the couch, lay down, and closed her eyes. She should be in her room, but she would like to be here once he arrives.

**…**

He forced himself not to move. He learned early on that if he didn't give any indication that he was coming to, then he wouldn't be beaten, of course there were times when he was still beaten for no reason at all… He had the distinct impression that the person beating him, or having him beaten, was very angry with him. 

Trowa tried to open his eyes but unlike the heavy lids he had earlier that day, he was having a hard time opening his eyes due to pain. He had been brutally socked in the eyes more than once and he could be quite sure that both his eyes are black and blue already, aside from being bloodshot. He still tried, though and found himself alone in a room.

Thankfully, his senses were correct with telling him that nobody was around. Slowly, painstakingly, he turned to look at his wrists. They were chained to the wall… Thankfully, that blinding light has dimmed into a luminescent yellow and much better with the way his eyes were acting up.

He wished he could swipe the dried blood that had ran down the corner of his lips and his tongue carefully touched the split on his lower lip and then grimaced. It hurt. It's been a long time since he had felt this kind of pain, but he was trying very hard to be familiar with it once again.

Trowa made sure that there were no other doors around him. If he was down here, where was Onie? Why was he taken? He was certain that they wouldn't just leave Onie behind… and if she was taken too, then he could only hope she wasn't experiencing the same pain he was.

His hands turned into fists at the thought of anyone kicking her in her stomach. 'They just dare try… they just dare…'

**…**

He never came back. 

Onie bit her lower lip in worry while she crumpled a fistful of her dress. This was the first time Trowa had ever done such a thing… And she wasn't at all feeling that everything was fine. In fact, she had the most distressing sensation that something's happened to-

"Doctor."

Onie nearly shrieked at the sound of that voice. She hadn't heard the door hiss to announce that someone had walked inside. Slowly, telling her heart to calm down, she turned toward the door, and faced her father. "Y-yes sir."

She frowned when he looked around her, almost as if pleased. A first, if anyone had asked. It was very disgruntling.

"Where is 874?" Blake asked as he casually walked to his daughter's desk. He would like to see what she would say.

Onie swallowed, hard. What could she say? Must she lie? Must she tell the truth? If only Jessie was here, he would know. Reaching a decision, she took a deep breath. "I do not know where 874 is, sir. I asked him to fetch me some herbs and roots, and he has yet to return." She forced herself to meet her father's gaze that seemed to bore a hole through her, and then he raised an eyebrow then shrugged.

"Very well…" He wasn't sure if his daughter lied to him. He didn't exactly listen through the entire conversation she and Brigham had, so she may as well be telling him the truth - that she had asked him to run an errand for her the morning after their tryst, and maybe she really think he's just lost somewhere… A load off his back. 

"Do you want to send out a rescue party?"

How she was able to keep her gaze level with his, she didn't know… She must have her mother's backbone. "I don't think so, sir." Onie stifled a shiver. 'There's that look again…' It was as if her father knew she was hiding something. She doesn't like this at all…

"If you need me, I'll be in the practice room."

A frown marred her forehead. "Have you implemented Mr. Morley's new program?"

Blake nodded absently. "They're doing quite well, under the given circumstances. I believe Morley does have the right programming this time… They are much more reactive than the others." He was not going to tell her of the recent accident that happened in the outside world… How was he to know that Morley had encrypted a code to kill the President. It was a sad thing that Relena Dorlian was the one who received the bullet though… 

'And deadlier.' Onie thought as she clamped her hands together behind her. 'Trowa, wherever you are, please come back soon.'

An uncomfortable silence descended on the couple, then Blake jerked a nod. "Focus on your research."

"Yes sir," she answered just before the door closed behind him. With one quick thought, she bounded to the mess room, grabbed some food, ran back to the garden, out through the glass door and was running toward the cabin before you could say 'Good bye'. Thoughts flashed before her, questions. 'What if Trowa isn't there? Where could he be? .How would she act? Poor Tristan…'

When she saw the roof, she slowed her run and tried to catch her breath. It just wouldn't do to alarm Trowa's brother. Schooling her face, she forced a small smile and hoped her face didn't betray anything. Finally, she opened the door. "Hello?"

Tristan stood up from the table, a welcoming smile on his face. "Doctor! Nice of you to drop by."

Onie saw how Tristan's eyes searched behind her then dimmed a bit. She felt awful.

"Is Trowa with you?" Tristan asked, wondering why his brother didn't show up yesterday.

"Er…" Onie looked away, unsure if the lie would show in her face. "Mr. Blake assigned him a task…" She inwardly cringed, and quickly thrust her hands in front of her. "Here, I brought you something…uhm… Trowa wants to make sure that you're eating."

Tristan chuckled as he took the offered food and thanked Trowa mentally. "Midii does her best to save me some of her rations… I eat okay." He walked back to the table then looked at her inquiringly. "Would you like to join me?"

'I wish I could.' Onie closed her eyes to hide. "I apologize. I can not. I'm needed at the compound." Another lie… but it was only a partial lie. She was needed… to find Trowa.

"Okay, well… tell my brother thanks."

Onie gave a faltering smile in response to Tristan's bright one, then she ran out of the cabin. The sun's rays were hot against her back and sweat poured down her forehead. It never was a good idea to be running in the middle of the day in India. She reached the compound and entered her garden. Gasping, she turned on her computer and ran a search for Trowa. 'He must be inside the compound… but where?' She didn't find him and she ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

She tried to remember what happened when she last saw him… She was sleeping in his arms… 'Oh no!' Her eyes widened as a possibility came to mind. 

"Oh no… Please no…" She ran out of her garden and into the hallway. There was only one part of the compound she never went to, and was never used… but that was because there had never been any traitor in her father's army to lock up in a prison. 

She knew her father sometimes passes by to check up on her, what if he found her and Trowa together…? What would he have thought? More importantly, what would he have done?!

She stopped in front of a double steel door. After placing her palm upon a sensor box to the right wall, a bright, orange red light flickered on the screen then the door opened. Onie breathed in deeply for courage then walked into the small hallway. 

This room was located at the very bottom of the compound. Half of the compound was underground, and this was the lowest level. The light was turned on dim, but she didn't mind. She knew the floor plan of this room like the back of her hand. She was forced to memorize every room, every floor… everything.

She peered into the shadows of each cell to her left. Every time she didn't find him, she breathed a sigh of relief only to be extinguished with worse possibilities… that maybe Trowa wasn't even brought down here, just… executed.

Her hand went up to her throat and she paused against the last cell of the row. Just the thought of Trowa's death was making her sick. Her throat seemed to be closing on her and she leaned against the wall, embarrassingly panting and then…

Onie stopped.

She pushed herself away from the wall and listened, making sure she was breathing as quietly as possible.

There it was again. That irregular, raspy breathing… 

"Trowa…?" Onie whispered into the dark cell to her right. 

There wasn't any answer. She slanted her eyes and tried to spear through the shadows. Something moved from within, a soft clang of chains followed.

Following her instincts, Onie walked towards the back wall, to that small control box in the middle, then typed in a code. 

The thick bars of the last cell shifted to the right, giving a rectangular opening for just one person.

Swallowing away her fear, she walked into the cell and instantly smelled sweat. The dim light from the hallway didn't reach far in any of the small spaces, but that was all right because she knew- 

A small bulb flickered at the far end of the wall. 

Well, so far, the programming for the room has functioned properly enough, but those thoughts didn't last as her eyes took in the man that half lay on the floor and half sat against the wall all because his arms were chained. 

"Oh, Trowa…" For a moment, she couldn't move. He was so battered one could almost not distinguish who he was! His hair was matted against his face, dried drops of blood was on the floor and against his skin… his wrists were raw from scraping against the chains, and his face was just… black and blue. Tears clouded her eyes as she whispered his name once again. "Trowa…"

Thinking only of him, she ran outside of the cell and typed in another code on the control box. When she heard the clank of chains, she ran back inside and ended kneeling beside him. Her hands gingerly touched his face and she wished that she brought some medicine with her.

"Trowa…? Trowa, wake up." There was a catch in her voice as she tenderly brushed back the hair on his face and tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm sorry…" She couldn't stop herself as she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against the side of his forehead.

A moan left his lips and Onie sat back to study his face. When she saw a twitch on his lids, she touched his face once again. "No, don't open your eyes."

He heard her, but he didn't listen. He needed to see her, and when he opened his eyes in a narrow slit, he was thankful that she seemed in good health. Yet, was this truly her? Or was he just dreaming of her? "O…nie…?"

His voice was raspy and she reached out to touch his hands. "I'm here, Trowa."

"… glad… didn't get you…"  It was so hard to talk… His whole body was aching so badly that breathing alone was already a chore.

She had to strain to hear what he was saying. "No, they didn't get me." Oh God, she felt awful. Here he was, beaten half to death, and he was still worried about her? "Trowa, I-"

"Onie!" 

Onie shrieked as hands grabbed her arms and she was jerked away. She landed unceremoniously on her buttocks, a few steps away from Trowa. Grimacing in pain, she looked up and wished she hadn't. Her father's furious face was glaring down at her. "S-sir…!"

Blake didn't have any words for such an occasion. The anger he felt was the same as when he saw his beaten wife, and during these times, there were just no words…

Trowa tried to move. He ignored his aching body as he tried to stand up and ended up landing on his side. "Get… away… from her…"

"No! Trowa, stay there!" Onie shouted, knowing how painful it was for him to move.

Blake turned his fury on his prisoner, walked to him and raised his foot to grind it into Brigham's stomach for the hundredth time, but before he could do it, he stumbled backwards, his hands trapped to his sides in a tight embrace that felt anything but love...

"No! Don't do it!" Onie held on for dear life as she embraced her father. When she saw what he was about to do, this was the first thing that came to mind… but now, holding him this way, she knew that she was going to be punished.

She pulled away, took a couple of steps back, then looked at her father's boots… but she couldn't stop her lips from moving. "How could you?! How could you do this to him?! He didn't do anything to you at all!"

Trowa continued to force his eyes open. He wished he had regained function of his body to shield Onie. He could tell, even if he couldn't see Blake's face, that he was ready to strike her.

Blake couldn't believe it. He stared at his daughter's head and his voice shook with undisguised fury. "Are you taking his side…? Are you choosing him over me…?"

Trowa frowned, wondering what hold Blake has over Onie.

Onie gasped as she tilted her head back to look at her father. There it was… that question once again. "I…" Was she supposed to choose right now? "I…" She looked from her father to Trowa. Her eyes brimmed with tears and then her feet moved of its own accord as she whispered, "I can't…" She ran… she ran outside the cell, outside that room… she ran and hid inside her garden… leaving Trowa who needed her, and leaving her father…

Trowa closed his eyes. He couldn't quite believe that she just left him like that… The pain that he felt now was worse than his physical ones. She-

"She chose me." 

Trowa needn't open his eyes to see the gloat in his face. He could already hear it in his voice. 

"She chose me over you."

Trowa wished he could put his palms on his ears and not hear those words. He felt his arms pulled and the chains wrapped on his wrists once again, but he didn't care any more… She left him. Why?! 'Why did she choose him over me…?' Why was he even asking that question?!

He felt the air stir near his ears.

"You see… blood is thicker than water…"

At that, Trowa opened his eyes. Pain shot to the back of his head but he stared at Blake all the same. The man had a triumphant smile on his lips, but that wasn't what Trowa was looking for… Faint as it was, he saw the similarity between Onie and Blake… 

She was his daughter… 

Stupid… Idiotic… Dumb… He was all that and more.

She was his daughter… 

Trowa closed his eyes and tried to close himself to the onslaught of betrayal that flowed through his veins. 

She was his daughter… 

He heard the bars slide back in place.

She was his daughter… 

What the hell is wrong with him that he always becomes partial to the enemy?

'Damn you…' He pressed his eyelids hard but something still fell down his cheek… something warm and liquid. "Damn you all…" 

**…**

She looked up from the couch as she rubbed her sleep-hazed eyes. It was dark outside. Nighttime. 

So… She fell asleep.

She supposed she should be happy, at least she was given reprieve from everything… The bad thing about sleeping through her problems was that, it's still there when you wake up. Ugly as ever.

She stood up from her couch and began to walk around her garden, checking the time as she did so. It was early evening.

Time to stop running and for her to make a decision.

Onie stopped near her waterfall and sat on one of the rocks. She must make a decision soon…  She closed her eyes and wished she would just fall asleep once again, but she already had her nap, and she was energized.

She opened her eyes and looked at the night sky outside the glass. It was a clear night… and she had made a decision.

**…**

Trowa came out of his sleep when his arms fell to his sides. He squinted against the dim lighting. Even the mere movement of his lids made him wince but at least he saw the figure against the light. 

"Trowa…?"

He blinked and painfully shook his head, just to make sure that he wasn't seeing or hearing things. He focused on the figure who now dropped beside him, and under that cap, he saw her face. "Onie…"

"Can you stand?" Onie whispered as she tenderly circled an arm around his waist, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Trowa grunted as he forced his body to stand. "What…," he swallowed. "What are you… doing here?"

He swayed against her and though he was supposed to hate her, when she wrapped both her hands around him to steady him, he felt better. He steadied, but she didn't let him go… He felt her breath against his neck, and a butterfly kiss on his cheek.

"I can't leave you here…"

He saw and felt a backpack, and slowly, he understood. She was helping him… She chose him. She chose him after all… "You chose me."

She stiffened against him then she moved away, not looking at him. This was harder than she thought. "We need to move… now."

"Onie…? What's wrong?" Trowa asked, surprising himself at finding strength enough to stop her.

She shook her head. "I will tell you later…" Then she was pulling him. Pulling him to the only safe place she knew. 

Trowa lost track of where they were. His head was pounding. It was as if they were in a maze. Suddenly, a wall appeared in front of them, and then they were outside, running away from the compound.

**…**

"Onie… how could you do this to me?" There could be no one else. Blake overturned the table in the middle of the hallway before he walked to the practice room. Jessie Matthew must have affected his daughter more than he had thought. He was going to give him a punishment to remember.

It was time to take matters into his own hands and take his daughter back.

He opened a door and stared at the last three men who had undergone the program Morley gave, modified by him, of course. He had to take out that encryption to kill the President. Hopefully, he hadn't missed any other secret codes. Although they were more than ready to show who and what they could do, he doesn't want to do so, yet.

He only hesitated once, still unsure about the program Morley sent him, but then he shoved his indecision aside and gave out his orders. "There are two rebels in the field. Bring back the girl, but kill the man."

The three saluted, grabbed their firearms and bombs, then exited.

Blake hoped he hadn't done anything foolish. He started to walk back to his office, but changed his mind. He was going to follow those three and see their performance.

**…**

His brain was still not in its full working order and he was surprised that Onie was able to move fast with him leaning so much against her, half dragging her backwards. They stumbled countless of times, and she half dragged him now and then. They seemed to have been walking for a long time. He was about to ask her where they were going, when a soft beeping sound startled them both.

They stumbled to the ground and Trowa saw Onie push a button on that small square mechanism she was carrying. She looked at him and he was surprised at the tears in her eyes.

"They found out that you've escaped…" Onie whispered as she looked at the face she wished she would never forget.

Trowa struggled to get up. "Then we must hurry."

Onie shook her head as she removed her backpack. "You…" She paused when she choked then tried again. "You must hurry. Here." She shoved the backpack to him then stood and turned away. "Go north, and you'll find the cabin."

Trowa frowned, not understanding. "Onie…?" he asked her back.

"There's still time. Go on, Trowa. Go to Tristan and leave with him." 

Trowa grabbed the trunk of a tree to steady himself. "Tell me…"

"Can't you understand?" Onie half turned to face him, tears streaming down her cheek. "I need to go back… I can't leave my father alone."

Now that the words were out of her mouth… he finally understood. She never really chose him… but yet, she still risked herself. "If you go back…"

"My father won't hurt me… but I can't let him hurt you again." She turned to fully face him, her hands shaking beside her, forcing herself not to run to him. "Go, Trowa. Please leave… Please…"

If she hadn't said the word 'please'… if she hadn't risked her life… Trowa sighed. He more than understood… They cannot be together. He closed his eyes. He hadn't even really thought of having a life together with Onie, but he knew that he was looking forward to one. She was one of the few people he could go along well… and… he… he cared for her. He could tell she cared for him too, as much as he does for her, but… they could never be.

"Thank you." Trowa whispered as he grabbed the bag and forced his body to move.

"Take care, Trowa…" Onie whispered to Trowa's back as he walked away from her. She turned, her heart wrenching in an aching pain, then she started to run back to her garden. She was on the other side, they had taken the long way around the compound, and because of that, they lost time.

She hoped she was right. She hoped that her father would not hurt her.

**…**

Trowa stumbled again into the ground, and he grimaced in pain as he forced his body to move. He was hurting… more than hurting. What he was feeling was more than pain. His battered body won't last any longer. He could barely walk. Maybe if he caught a couple of breaths right now, he'd be able to stand up again.

He pulled the backpack next to him and opened it, nearly smiling at what's inside, only for it to turn into a grimace of pain. Trowa pulled out a gun, and with Onie's own logic she had attached a silencer on the end. It was thoughtful of her.

There were medicines in it for him, some food, and water. She cared enough for him to make sure he would be able to survive. And how was he repaying her? He was just sitting out here in the open, ready to be shot.

With a deep breath, he pulled himself up and started to walk. When he saw the cabin rooftop, he felt a bittersweet relief. He received freedom in exchange of her. He was about to walk into the open when he saw a shadow move. Trowa tensed and looked around… 

There was another shadow lurking at the far eastern side of the cabin…

But, he was sure that nobody had followed him unless…

It was a trap…! 

Onie _had_ betrayed him! They were probably holding Tristan and Midii inside right now… Just waiting for him to show up! 

Fury fueled his veins and he gripped the gun in his hands. 'How could she?' He thought… Trowa shook his head. How many times was he going to be fooled by her?

He was about to make a move when the shadow by the eastern side did an action he had seen too often during the war. His eyes widened. 'No!'

**…**

Blake moved closer to the window. There was no light, of course so as not to betray their presence inside the cabin, but he could easily see two shadows, huddled together- and one of the shadows was clearly a woman.

"Onie…"

He closed his eyes, and sighed… yet, he wasn't at all that sad. He remembered how his wife and he… how they did just the very same thing. 'Has it been so long that I've forgotten how it is when one's in love?'

Memories assailed him and he forlornly walked back towards the trees. Maybe he should not be so hard on his daughter, after all, there was a time in his life when he had chosen love over society's norms. 

He saw a movement in the shadows to his right and noticed that one of his men had slinked back to the shadows from the cabin. Well, it was time for him to call them back…

Blake was about to raise his hand in a signal to retreat when the shadow threw something in the air. His eyes went wide as he followed that object sail in the night sky, darker than the evening skies.

It crashed through the small cabin window and Blake froze in shock.

**…**

She was close to her garden entrance when a loud explosion from the forest made her turn around. Her jaw dropped as her eyes took in the blaze in the direction of the cabin. 

"Oh my God…!" 

Her garden was forgotten as she ran towards the licking red-orange flame. 'Trowa… Tristan… Midii…' She shook her head, unable to accept it. They're supposed to be in a safe place… She was sending Trowa to that safe place. It's supposed to be safe!

"Please… oh please let him… _them_ be all right." In her mind's eye, she calculated where Trowa would have been coming out from if he had followed her directions. She turned away from their usual path to the cabin and made sure she stayed in the shadows. 

Was this her father's work? Was he so consumed with anger that he would attack in such a vulgar way? "Please no…"

Onie saw the clearing as she gasped in air.  She knew better than to start shouting for Trowa. So, with the smoke blowing her way, and without the moon's guiding light, she started to look for him. 

**…**

Blake slowly pushed himself from the ground then stared at the blazing fire. His daughter was inside. 

He closed his eyes, cursing everything he knew as reality seeped in his mind.

His daughter's dead.

Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been him? 'Damn that Brigham… Damn that Matthew…' If it weren't for Matthew putting all those silly ideas of love in his daughter's mind, she would still be working in her garden… If it hadn't been for Brigham, she would still be safe within the compound.

He wanted to stay where he was and cry, but sounds from within the forest made him hide and he saw people in uniform walk near the clearing. 

People who were not his soldiers.

It was time to leave, though it pained his heart.

For the last time, he looked at the burning pile of wood where he last saw his daughter, then he told himself he would monitor any radio broadcast of find from the fire. With an aching heart, he became one with the shadows and walked back to his safe haven.

**…**

Onie almost didn't find him. If she hadn't stumbled on his foot, she never would have. She bit her tongue to stop herself from blurting his name, and parted the bush where he fell. 

His head was resting at the base of a large tree, and he was on his side, the backpack next to him, and the gun she gave him still clutched in his hand. 

He was unconscious but- she kneeled next to him and checked his pulse then sighed in relief- still very much alive. There was no other choice now. Trowa needs her more than her father. His clothes were singed, his face and hands were blistered and there were new wounds on him. 

Her hands fluttered over his body and another sigh of relief left her lips when she concluded that he has no broken bones, although he does have a very large bump on the head. She knew they couldn't stay around the area for long. Her father would most likely have the area combed. If not him, then a swarm of government soldiers who will be trying to douse the fire.

She knew they couldn't stay, but she hadn't expected on having to leave as fast as she could. She just didn't anticipate the gunfire that erupted so very close to where they were! Or rather, it sounded so close. 

"I have to get us out of here…" She donned the backpack on, grabbed the gun from Trowa's hand, then pulled Trowa up with all her might. She already had a hard time earlier during the evening when he was half leaning against her, but this time around, he was unconscious and that meant, his full weight. It was a surprise that she was able drag him so far away. It was also a surprise that she was able to think clearly throughout that night!

She remembered the river that flowed a few meters away from the cabin, and she remembered a small cave, more of a crevice against a hill, a few meters down from the river. If they stay on the river until they reach that hill, nobody would be able to track them. 

Onie thanked no one in particular when the river came to view. Then, she dropped Trowa and the backpack near the bank, grabbed a fallen branch with leaves and started back where they came from. She must cover their trail, and hope she doesn't meet any hurdles because… she was ready to use her gun.

A few minutes later, she returned to Trowa's side, then pulled him into the river with her. She half hoped that the cold water would wake him up, but he didn't. Silently, she worried that maybe he hit his head harder than she could have imagined, and she could only pray that there were no internal injuries of which she doesn't know how to handle.


	70. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 10

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Ten

By Heartfire

~*~

Onie sleepily opened her eyes and stared directly upon Trowa's face, gauging if he was still sleeping or not. When she was sure he was still under the influence of the herbs she gathered, she yawned and stretched. 

It's been five? Six days? Ever since that explosion from the cabin. She wondered if her father had even tried to look for her, then she wondered how she and Trowa were going to survive… Most especially, she wondered about Trowa.

He'd been unconscious for three days, after the cabin exploded. She tried her best to look after the slight burns on his hands and cheek, his bruises, and wounds.  For the most part, the external injuries seemed to be healing, but…

Onie turned to look at him again. His face was starting to look normal. Most of the swelling were down in a minimum, and she made sure he was clean. 

She thought he'd never wake up, maybe he went into a coma after that explosion… maybe he'd been so near, and bumped his head so badly… but then, on the fourth day, when she woke up from a quick nap and saw him staring at her… She should have been happy. Yet, she wasn't. Why?

Onie shivered as she remembered that day. 

It was that look. It was blank… it reminded her too much of her father's newly brainwashed people… it was just so… nothing, and he wasn't moving. He just lay there, head tilted to her side, and she couldn't stand it. She acted quickly and gave him a sleeping pill… Thank God that within a few minutes, he had closed his eyes. 

She only had a number of those pills, and she knew she might need them in the future, so she resorted to the reliable plants around the area. She knew where they were, she knew how to handle them… and so far, they've survived because of them. The food she packed for him was not enough and she wanted to save some for when Trowa was finally awake and in his old self.

Until then… they're living on borrowed time.

And what of Tristan and Midii? She could only hope that they were able to escape… if not…

'I don't want to think about it.' Onie stood up and went about with her work. It was time to give Trowa his medicine and right now was the best time to go out and gather more supplies, while the dew is still wet on the leaves. 

'Just imagine…' she thought as she walked out of the cave and tried to be as unobtrusive as ever, 'somewhere across the oceans, it is actually late evening or afternoon.'

She faced the direction towards the compound and sighed. "Good morning, papa." She whispered as she imagined her father's face. 'I hope you will understand what I've done-'

An incredulous sound left her lips as a loud explosion resounded in the air coupled with a fierce spark from where she was staring. The spark turned into a high column of flame, and then dark, thick smoke wafted into the atmosphere.

"Daddy…!" Herbs fell from her shocked hands, then she started running. Trees, bushes, and branches faded in a spin of green and brown. Her eyes were only focused upon one place. Her sides ached and she was gasping for air, but giving herself time quick enough for a couple of breath, she started her sprint once again.

And then, she reached it. 

She couldn't speak. 

She stood, a couple of feet within the forest's border, but with view enough of the place she had lived in for more than half her life… the only place she truly knew, both underground and above. "Papa…" The whispered left her lips as she fell to her knees and stared at the burning rubble in front of her. There were bodies that littered the ground too… innocent lives…

What, or who could have done this? 

A sob escaped her lips and her hands went up to cup her mouth, but try as she might to stop those sounds, she couldn't. Her father and she may not have had the best relationship, but he was still her father. Her only family.

Onie lay down on the ground and curled into a ball, silently weeping her father's life, and that of the people who lived in the compound…

**…**

She didn't know how long she wept or stayed, but she knew that if she didn't get out of the place soon, government officials would be jumping on her back and demanding explanations which she wasn't sure she could give. 

Onie dragged herself from the black misery that seemed to want to envelop her and tried to tell herself that there was still Trowa to look after.  She was halfway to their hideout, treading through the river water when she heard some scraping noises, followed by… grunts?

She looked down. The river was too clear and if she got out of it, whoever's out there would surely see her wet footprints! She was starting to panic when she remembered that the gun she added in Trowa's backpack was still in place. She instantly reached for it, scared but ready to defend herself.

She was ready for anything but she wasn't expecting two men to stumble out of the forest and fall in a jumble of bodies after taking a few steps. Neither did she expect one of the bodies to be-

"Jessie!" 

She got out of the river and, in mere seconds, was beside the two bodies- beside her only friend who was gasping for air and trying to get his upper body up to look at her.

"Onie…?!"

She knelt beside him and embraced him, joyous at finding someone she knew, someone she considered as her friend, someone who came from the same place she did, making her squeeze him-

"Ungh!"

Onie quickly let go and stared down at him. She took in his bruised face and bloodied uniform and her face turned from happy to concern. "What happened to you?!"

Jessie shook his head, cringing in pain at the same time. "The question is- where the hell have you been?! I thought you were dead!"

She frowned, turning this new fact over in her mind. "Why would you think that? I know that I haven't been home, but Trowa needed me."

Jessie didn't appear to hear her as he reached out, though that mere action sent thousands of needles prickling down his arm. Onie stood still as she let him touch her face with his fingers. There was a look upon his face that was so… significant… and then he sighed and pulled back.

"Thank God you're alive… Your father told me that you were dead… killed in that cabin that blew up."

She shook her head while her hands grabbed fistfuls of her trousers. "Jessie… did my father escape?"

Jessie, already at the brink of exhaustion, let his body fall flat on the ground, then he shook his head. "I don't know, kid… I just escaped from your father's jail, stumbled on this guy here, then the whole place started going haywire. Doors started opening, walls started twisting, then I saw this one passage that I've never seen before and just grabbed him and ran. The next thing I knew, we were out here." He breathed in as he finished his story. "Do me a favor, Ons…"

Onie nodded, swallowing. So, there was still no light to be shed upon her father. There were a number of questions she wanted to ask Jessie, such as why was he in her father's jail… when did he get back… how was his vacation… so many, but right now, "What is it, Jess?"

Jessie jerked his hand to the backpack beside him, similar to the one she had given to Trowa. "Grab that for me and help me up. We have to get out of the open. Got any place in mind?"

Onie put on the backpack then with an effort, pulled the still unconscious man with Jessie, briefly wondering why she wasn't familiar with his face, and then helped her friend up to his feet. "I know a place. I just hope you won't mind getting your feet wet."

"Just get me there and I'll be forever in your debt."

She shook her head. He was still the same old Jessie… always making fun. It took quite some time for them to reach her cave. Jessie was in more pain than he made her believe, and they could hear helicopters in the skies. By the time they got to safety, she knew that there were more people out on the land within that instant than there ever had been before, save during history. 

Jessie fell down in exhaustion beside Trowa, and Onie, as gently as she could, propped the man she was half dragging against one end of the wall. "I have to clear our tracks," she whispered as she turned and ran..

Jessie nodded before he let darkness invade his sight.

**…**

He woke up feeling more rested than he had for the past few days, all save if one doesn't consider the time he spent with Dorothy… although one couldn't exactly say that he was fully rested with her.

He moved and instantly groaned in pain. His whole body was sore as hell. He heard a voice and felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. When the throbbing pain of haze left him to be able to think rationally, he saw Onie beside him. "Hey."

Onie half smiled at his crooked grin. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead."

"Heh!" Jessie slowly moved to sit up. "If there's still a sun out there, why'm I a sleepyhead?"

"Because you slept the whole day away yesterday."

At that revelation, Jessie sat up ramrod straight and immediately bit back a howl of pain. "I was asleep yesterday?!"

Onie nodded then glared at him with reprimand. "You didn't even tell me that your patient had two bullet wounds! I could have used your help with patching him up… although," her glare turned into that familiar concerned look as she turned to the other man, "he lost a lot of blood."

"How bad?" Jessie moved to the other man and inspected him. As usual, Onie was quite thorough with her stitching and wound dressings. He almost cried out in surprise when he saw his hands covered with small bandages, showing that Onie had also taken care of him. 

"I'm not sure. I wish I studied Medicine instead of Biology, though… if only to help him more than…" 

He heard the frustration in her voice and he quickly went beside her to encompass her in a hug. "Hey… you did well. So far, he's still with us."

Onie turned in his embrace, her shoulders shaking, and he felt her tears seep through his shirt. It was no wonder… she has been through a lot, he could tell… and seeing the compound in flames, not knowing where her father was- though he couldn't care less where that bastard was- well… she deserves a good cry.

He looked around him and he instantly recognized Tristan Brigham. What was the story on this? Why was she hiding with Tristan and, what the hell happened to that kid? He looked like he was run over by a bulldozer.

Jessie slowly realized that her crying became soft, and then she breathed in shakily. 

"I'm sorry." She pulled away from him and ended up staring at her hands. 

"Hey, it's okay… I understand." He saw how she looked at Tristan's sleeping form- funny how that man hasn't woken up yet- then at the man he found lying on the hallway.

"Jessie, I don't know him."

He nodded. He was fully aware of that, which was one of the reasons why he grabbed him out of that compound. "Neither do I, Ons."

"But, he could be an enemy."

"Or a friend."

They both sighed. Regret, misery, and anxiety all rolled into one. 

"So," He wanted to make the mood lighter. "What's the story behind you and Tristan?" A wicked grin flittered on his lips. "Eloping, are you?"

Onie shook her head, a small smile lighting her face. "No, Jessie… he isn't Tristan. His name is Trowa." She saw how his eyebrow shot up to his hairline and proceeded to explain. After a while, Jessie looked from her to Trowa and back to her.

"So… you don't know if Tristan survived?" He was beginning to understand why Blake thought she died in that cabin.

"No, and it's horrible, Jessie."

The anger in her eyes showed how she felt, and more. There were some things she wasn't telling him, but she needn't to. He could already tell. "It's going to be worse for him, I think."

The tone of his voice… Onie stared into his eyes and Jessie needn't tell her what happened. Seriously and looking sullenly, Onie nodded.

"You sure it's good to keep him sleeping?"

She looked away. "You didn't see the look in his face, Jessie… At least, when he's sleeping, I could understand… besides," She stood up and then started going through the backpacks, "Sleeping is restorative."

"Not all the time, dear." Jessie whispered in concern. She didn't answer him, but he hadn't expected her to. It was a complicated situation, and there's nothing they could do… not to mention that they have to bring the man-with-no-name to a hospital. The thing was, they have no passport, they're full of questionable wounds, and therefore, no reasonable way out of here unless they do it with a fight.

"Onie, we have to get out of here."

She gave him an incredulous look then shook her head. "Not in your condition. You could barely stand up!"

Jessie snorted, ready to prove her wrong. "I could too!" He forced his body to stand, only to end up sprawled on the floor and eating dust. At least she didn't laugh. 

"Gee… I could see that."

All right. So, she's got a point. When did she become so sarcastic? Oh wait… that must have been his doing. He turned to lie on his back. They cannot very well get a fighting chance if he couldn't even move. And with two useless bodies, she's going to need him to be in fully functioning when they make their move. "Fine. We'll stay here one more day, then we move out."

"You can leave whenever you want, Jessie… but I'm staying here." She was afraid of what's out there. She had never been _out_ there before.

He could tell that she was frightened. Of what, he didn't know. But, he sure as hell wasn't going to let her stay out here! Well, if there was one thing he learned from having four older sisters, it was not to charge head on… The trickier, the better. 

"Onie," he gave his most urging voice, "Trowa might need medical attention now… maybe that's why he hasn't been responsive." Guilt started eating him, but he pushed it away. "That man over there also needs medical attention. You said so yourself." He breathed in deeply, noisily to make her hear. "Are you going to let the lives of two men stain your hands?" It was bad of him. He could already hear his sisters voices- 'Naughty, Jessie.' Or 'Very bad…' but… 

Onie's back went rigid. She didn't speak. Could she do it? Could she leave? She has no one now… Who would look after her? 

As if he could read her mind, Jessie spoke. "Don't worry… I'll take care of you." Jessie watched as her shoulders slumped. 

Then she nodded. 

"All right, Jessie… Let's do it your way."

Jessie nodded, but he didn't feel triumphant. He tried, instead, to focus on a plan. There's a military base somewhere by the borders of the India-reserve, and New India… It would take them a number of days to get there… "Damn! If we only have a vehicle."

Onie turned to him then threw him a packed jerky. She didn't look happy at all.

"One of dad's vehicles was hidden in a cave up the river. I found it a few days ago, but there isn't enough gas in it." She was sure that Midii hid it there. 

Jessie whooped in joy. "A vehi- ow!" Jessie went rigid as he tried to alleviate the pain, then a shadow fell over him and he found Onie offering him a glass of water and a pill.

"It's a pain reliever."

He usually didn't believe in easing pain by use of a damn pill. Even though he was a doctor, he trusts his natural pain relievers more, but right now… He was very willing. He drank the thing down and thanked her.

Onie nodded. "So, how about if you tell me what you've been up to, to until why you were in my father's jail?"

He told her and he nearly went berserk with how many times she apologized, but at least… she wasn't mad at him anymore, and his guilt kinda toned down a bit.

**…**

Catherine anxiously crumpled a handful of her skirt as she waited for the doctor to come out of his lab. He had called her only less than an hour ago, and said that the results for the DNA match came in. Now… 

It was the moment of truth.

The knob clicked and the door opened. Cathy's heart pumped faster and her hands left her skirt to find her husband's reassuring warmth. In response, Keith gave a slight pressure to her hands.

"Mrs. Almeida…?"

She looked up at the doctor's gentle face- the latest and last Quatre hired- and gulped. "Yes…?"

The doctor opened the door a bit wider. "You may come in now."

Closing her eyes for a quick prayer, she stood up and hesitantly walked towards the door with Keith's reassuring presence next to her. They followed the doctor to a large monitor at the back of the room. She remembered the swift lesson he gave about DNA's and so forth. 

At the moment, the screen was just blank, and she remembered everything he told her, including how they could distinguish if someone was related to another through their DNA samples.

 The doctor motioned for them to sit down on the two chairs prepared specially for this occasion then walked to his computer. "Are you ready…?"

Catherine nodded, her neck so stiff she was afraid it was going to snap off her body!

The doctor pushed some keys on the computer then the monitor Cathy and Keith were facing turned on…

A picture with two DNA samples appeared…

Catherine's eyes followed each curve and line that appeared-

Her eyes widened and she took a quick intake of breath…

**…**

"Jessie…?" 

He could hear the panic in her voice as he forced himself to keep his eyes open. They're so close… "What is it?"

A shriek left her lips and the car swerved to avoid hitting another car, skidding on the road. They stopped on the shoulder and they tried to gather their wits about them.

"Damn snow storm." Jessie muttered as he turned on the engine once again, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

Onie gulped as she pushed her body farther against the cushion of her seat. She glanced at Jessie and saw how white he was. The whole arm of his jacket had caked blood upon it, and the side of his head was still bleeding! She may not be a doctor, but she could tell when one was fighting unconsciousness!

"Trust me, Onie… I'm not going to let you down." Dear Lord, but his eyesight was turning on a purple hue! Oh God… please! Just a little bit more longer… they're so close! So very close… just a couple of streets away…

Onie swallowed again then touched his shoulder. "I trust you Jessie." Then she forced herself to sit back and be ready for anything. 'You don't know how much I trust you…' He rammed the hovercraft into the military base's fence late yesterday evening, and knocked out soldiers before they knew what was happening. Lord forgive her, but they stole a helicopter, then set fire to it just outside a city! Then he smuggled them into an airplane, sneaked them out of the airport unseen even with the two unconscious men with them! Then he got them the car and was driving it even when she could see that he was in pain… Oh, how she wished she knew how to drive.

She closed her eyes when they missed another head on collision. The white fluff that kept on falling from the skies- snow- she once dreamt of being near such a thing, but right now, how she wished there wasn't any of it, and that there was a sun out there instead of a dreary old evening sky, if it was going to help Jessie drive safer!

"Jessie?" She was surprised when he pulled off the road again. He had leaned back while he tried to catch his breath.

"Onie…" It was time to face facts… Damn, but what a waste… they were so close, but he knew they'd only get them killed if he kept on driving. "I don't think… I can last much longer…" 

"Is it your wound? I told you I wanted to look at it in the airplane!" Onie quickly pulled at his jacket then gasped… She thought he only had an arm gun wound, but there was also one on his shoulder! It was a surprise that he lasted for nearly a full day with it! The way his face was so white, and his eyes turning glazed… "No! Jessie! Stay with me! You promised you'd take care of me!" God, how could she be so selfish at a time like this?!

"Let me take care of your wound now." Her stomach felt queasy, and her hands were shaking like rattlesnake's tail while she grabbed the backpack from the backseat. 

"No, don't waste your medicines on me. I just want you to listen to some things I'm going to say."

Onie shook her head as she started to tear his shirt to take a closer look at his wound. "You're going to be okay, Jessie. You will!"

"There's… there's a building," Jessie swallowed his suddenly dry throat. "It's the tallest in the city…" Jessie stopped Onie's swabbing hands and trapped them to make her look in his eyes… She was growing dimmer- or was that his eyesight? "Listen, Onie…"

Onie nodded, telling herself not to cry and that everything was going to be fine. "I'm listening, Jessie."

Jessie half smiled. "Good… Look for someone to talk to…" A stab of pain shot up from his wound even though he thought, only moment ago, that it was already numb. "I… Jess Daniel Callum, A…" Jessie blinked, surprised that the snow was becoming blurry against the windshield. "A78…65I…10, told you to report to them…"

She could feel him tightening his muscles under her hand, making himself numb from whatever pain he was experiencing.

"Repeat it, Onie!" His voice rasped out.

Onie repeated the name and the numbers while she blinked back her tears.

Jessie nodded. "You have to… tell them about your father… please…"

She nodded, anything to keep him talking. 

A dry chuckle left his lips as he remembered the women in his life… He knew he wasn't going to see them again… "Look for me… sistwers…" 

Onie bit her lower lip at his slurred words. She could tell that he was having a hard time forming those simple words, and keeping his eyes open. "Jessie… Jessie! Keep awake!"

He opened his lips, but he was starting to forget what he was going to say. "… luv them…"

"Yes, yes I know you love them. You'll tell them that." She placed pressure on his hands, and he gripped her back, though weakly.

"… say Dorothy…" He chuckled again. It was as if he didn't know how to talk. "I love… her…"

"Why do you want me to say that? You say that to her yourself. You told me it means much more if one person say it personally to the other." Onie slapped his cheek when he closed his eyes. "Jessie! Don't play this dumb game with me!"

She was relieved when he opened his eyes, but the empty look he gave her made her shiver. 

"I'm… sworry, Onei… tried…"

"I know. I know you tried, Jessie." A tear fell. She didn't mean to, but it just fell. And now, the others she was holding back were falling too.

"… take… care…" 

His last word was said in a sigh before he went limp, his hand that was just holding hers a little while ago, fell down to his lap. 

Onie shook her head. She couldn't believe it. "No! You can't do this to me!" She pushed at him, kicking the space in front of her feet and connecting her foot with the plastic thing that was part of the car. "I don't know anyone here, Jessie! Please!" She slapped his face and tried to wake him up, her chest hurting as she forced herself not to cry. She may be shedding tears, but she is not going to cry! Not yet! Jessie couldn't die! 

She closed her eyes then took a deep breath. He said that she had to go to the tallest building in this city? Well, they were going to get there! She opened her car door, levered herself in the best possible position, then hauled Jessie's limp body to her seat. After a few grunts and hitting her head on that damn low cover, she was able to put a seatbelt around him, closed the door, and walked to the driver's seat.

She slipped and had to grab the hood of the car to keep herself from falling. "Dumb snow." She whispered under her breath, imitating Jessie's voice. 'How hard was it to drive?' She had watched Jessie do it. It seemed easy.

Onie looked at the city around her and tried to locate that one tall building Jessie was- "Ah… there you are." 

With a nod of her head, she sat inside the driver's car, took a deep breath, then turned on the ignition. So far, so good. Now, all she needs is to get back to the road-

A blaring horn made her jump in her seat, and she nearly screamed. A black car passed her, so close, she could almost touch it! Her hands shook, but she grabbed hold of the wheel and glared at the disappearing car. "Idiot! Look where you're driving!" Jessie had said that a number of times before, and she was quite sure he would say the same things right at that moment!

Gripping the steering wheel, she pushed on the pedal on the right, and jerked as her car zoomed forward. She wanted to close her eyes, but she knew she shouldn't, and instead, she satisfied her fears with a litany of-

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!"

Her steering wheel seemed to have caught a mind of it's own, making her swerve left then right! A black and white car moved in behind her, and she saw, from the mirror in the middle of the windshield, that a red and blue light flickered on top of that car. Not knowing what it meant, she pushed forward, missing near collisions, and twisting the traffic more than it already was.

She saw the building Jessie had mentioned. It was looming ahead of her. Her destination. She will get there! 

Another car with the red and blue lights appeared beside her, but she only had eyes for that building. It was to the right of the road-

"OhmyGod!" Her car went down a steep hill. She was going to miss the building if she continued down this road! She looked to her right and made a quick turn, cutting every other vehicle that was going vertical.

She jerked when the car hit an island that had small bushes growing from it, and swerved around an area with cars that were not moving. The building was in front of her now… a metal rectangle door large enough to fit two trucks looming ahead. 

She was going too fast! 

Her palms started to sweat from not knowing what to do and she tried to think. If there was a pedal for going, there must be a pedal for stopping. 

The metal door was only a few feet away from her now, and she pressed both her feet on the other pedal. Her car squeaked, she held on for dear life as the steering wheel tried to turn, and then she closed her eyes as the metal door loomed in front of her and-

A loud crash of metal against metal made her let go of the wheel and press her hands against her ears. Something pressed against her, soft but firm, and she almost couldn't breathe. There were sirens coming from somewhere in the distance, but- she opened her eyes- they stopped! She was able to make them stop!

There was a white… thing… in front of her and she remembered that Jessie had pushed the tiny lever in the middle of the car up near the stereo whenever they were stopped, so her hand groped for that lever and pulled. When she couldn't pull any more, she wriggled out of the suffocating white clothy stuff and out of the car, nearly falling to her knees.

She looked up and her breath caught in her throat. "Oh no…" Chill seeped into her bones as she stared in front of her in dismay… The metal door was underneath the car and it took a small portion of a large room full of computers and… people standing at the other side of the room. 

People…

The sirens were growing louder. 

There were people here, at this time! She scrambled up to her feet. "Please! Help me!" She rushed to the passenger's door and opened it, pulling Jessie's body away from the mass of white something. Slipping and falling to her buttocks with Jessie sprawled on top of her. She looked to the group of people who were staring at her as though she had grown mad. 'What are they waiting for?!' Couldn't they see that she needed help?! "Please! Somebody! Help me!"

She squirmed away from Jessie's body, her pleading eyes upon the group of people lined by the other side of the wall. Someone moved. A man with a kind face and neat blond hair. Onie sighed in relief as she stood up and opened the back door.

"Over here! Please!"

Lights started to appear behind her, red and blue. The man kept on steadily approaching. He was halfway through when more people moved from the group by the wall… a man with long braided hair, a woman with short black hair, another woman with long red hair, an exotic looking man with a pony tailed hair, and a woman with blond, curly hair.

She gave tight smile towards them, thankful for any help they might offer. She was able to take away the seatbelt around Trowa's body when she felt a person behind her. She was about to move when-

"Put your hands in the air where we could see them!" 

The shout startled Onie, making her slip back. Thankfully, the person behind her stopped her fall. She looked up to thank him, but he wasn't looking at her… he was looking at the people in the backseat- and he looked pale!

"Trowa…!" 

Onie's eyes widened in surprise. "You know Trowa?" She whispered. She couldn't quite believe it… How could they know Trowa?

The others reached them and quickly swarmed around her to stare inside the car. She could feel their surprise and astonishment, even without their gasps.

"Holy shit! It's Heero!" the man with a braid cried out, his eyes nearly popping out of its socket.

"Please… could someone get help and look after them?" Onie cried as she straightened to stand up. Her words seemed to have an effect- or at least that now that their shock has ebbed, they saw how badly beaten their friends are!

"Mariemaia! Get Sally here. NOW!" 

Onie cringed at how loud that voice was. 

Just at that moment, a man in blue uniform approached them, an angry look on his face. "What the hell is going on here?!"

The woman with the blonde, curly hair walked away from the group. 

Onie was torn between making sure that the man with the ponytail and the one with the braid was carefully taking both Trowa and… Heero? Out of the back seat, and checking what the woman would say. She ended up staring at the two men at work, and making sure she heard what the woman was saying.

"My name is Colonel Ping Rossi of the Intelligence Alliance. What is the problem?"

"Er… ma'am… I was going to ask you that."

Onie couldn't help take a quick look behind her and saw that there was a line of black and white cars around the building with guns pointed at her…

"There's no trouble here at all."

"But… they crashed into-"

"Are you questioning me? I already said that there's no trouble, or do you want me to take this to your superior, Captain… Taylor?"

Onie nearly shivered at Ping Rossi's voice. She was glad that she wasn't Captain Taylor! She heard the man grumble an apology, then yelled 'Move out!' behind him. In a few more minutes, the black and white cars all rushed out of the area.

"Way to go, Ping!" The woman with the short black hair said as Ping came in.

"You could've done the same thing, Hilde." 

"How are they, Quatre?" The woman with the red hair asked the man with a kind face as she bent over the two men, that were now laying on the metal door.

"So far? I don't know, Yvan…"

Onie looked around her, trying to memorize the names… she may need it later, but… was she tired…

"Good grief! What the hell happened here?!" The yell came from the other side of the room and a woman with a long blonde sandy hair flying behind her, wearing in a white coat that almost looked like her laboratory coat, bustled into the group.

"Sally, look!" The one with the braid cried out, waving his hand.

"What is it, Duo?"

'Duo… Sally…' Onie repeated as she watched the woman walk in closer and then falter in her steps.

"Oh my God…! J.D.!" 

'J.D.?' Onie asked herself and finally understood when Sally knelt down beside Jessie.

"You know that guy?" the one with the ponytail asked as he walked closer.

Sally nodded, a grim line on her lips. "Yes, Wufei… He was a student of mine… one of the best, but… he's been considered as a deserter."

"He isn't!" Onie cried out just as Wufei muttered-

"Figures."

Duo shook his head. "So, what are the odds that there are three Preventers, together in one car… and two explosions in less than a week?" Everyone turned to look at Onie while Sally talked to a communicator in her hand.

Onie tilted her head up and met their gaze though deep inside, she was quaking in fear. "I am willing to answer any questions, but please…" She gave a desperate look towards the three bodies on the floor.

Sally looked up at her and gave her a smile. "Don't worry, you're in good hands."

Onie nodded, already figuring out that she was a doctor. "Jessie has two gunshots on his right arm and shoulder. This man," She pointed at the one with dark brown hair that Jessie had picked up before he escaped, "You call Heero also has two gunshots, one on the right shoulder, the other on his left leg." She faced the last body, "And Trowa… he…" She looked away. "He's been beaten and has a concussion from an explosion… I think…"

Sally nodded. "Thank you for the input." She stood up then motioned for her staff to come over. "Well?! What are you waiting for?! There are three people down here who needs medical attention!"

Someone in the group snickered, Onie could only surmise that it was Duo, he has that mischievous air around him. They followed close behind, through hallways and elevators, except for Wufei and Ping who stayed to give further orders on what to be done. Onie was nearly swallowed in the middle of the group, until they stopped before a double metal door. 

"Well, there isn't anything else to do now but wait." Duo muttered as he turned to the set of chairs lined by the wall and sit down. Hilde promptly sat next to him and Onie felt her chest hurt when Duo wrapped his arm around her.

"Excuse me." 

Onie jerked when she felt that tap on her arm. She turned and faced that one man with the kindest face… Quatre. He smiled at her and she knew right then and there that she could trust him.

"Would you like some hot cocoa?"

She nodded stiffly and tried to smile, but ended up looking as though she had grimaced. He seemed to have understood though because he just gave her another soft smile. She watched as he turned to the woman with red hair- Yvan- held out his hand and she twined hers with his. Onie looked away. 

She was standing awkwardly by the wall, receiving curious, but sincere looks from the couple that sat at the other wall, when Quatre arrived with Yvan and a tray full of delicious smelling cocoas.

"Hey, thanks Quats!" Duo grabbed two and handed one to Hilde.

"Thank you!" Hilde repeated as she took the cup.

Yvan already had hers in her hands, while Quatre placed the tray on the small table next to the chairs. He turned to face her, two cups in hand and then gave the other to her. "Careful, they're quite-"

"Yeow!"

An amused look flittered over his face while Hilde sighed and Yvan chuckled.

"- hot."

She wanted to smile, she really did, but it seemed that she was too tired to even do that, so she nodded instead. 

"Would you like to sit down?" Quatre asked as he motioned to the chairs next to her and studied her. She had waist long hair, an oval face, and a very strained look about her.

She didn't want to… she wants to suffer in her own way, and if that means standing up until they receive word, so be it. She shook her head, and it seemed as though the man understood her yet again.

"My name is Quatre. Quatre Winner." Quatre gave her his most sincere smile instead of reaching out his hand for a shake. He had the oddest notion that she wouldn't know how to shake hands, and he doesn't want to pressure her. That was another reason why he didn't ask if she would give them her name. He has this feeling that she would only give it to them when she's good and ready, and they all need to have questions answered by her… most especially questions regarding Trowa!

Onie nodded to acknowledge him then looked behind him.

Quatre turned to his side and motioned to the others. "That's Yvannyah Matfei."

Yvan smiled at her. She and Quatre had already talked about the girl while they bought the cocoas, and they agreed that they must get her to relax first… She looked like a rabbit ready to jump. "Please call me Yvan. My name is quite a mouthful."

Onie nodded once again.

Quatre was about to introduce the others but Duo piped out before him.

"No need, Q-man." Duo stood up then walked to her.

Quatre saw what he was going to do but before he could tell him no, Duo had already thrust his hand out. Onie leaped back, splashing cocoa onto the floor and banging her back against the wall.

"Hey, whoa there! I wasn't going to do anything!"

Yvan acted quickly as she wiped the floor clear of liquid with some tissues.

There was a tense moment as Duo kept his hand out and Onie stared at it, wondering what in the world this man wanted her to do! She looked up at the braided man's openly smiling face and had the same feeling as the one she received from Quatre. He was someone she could trust.

"This is a handshake. It's what we do around here. See?" Duo turned to Quatre, hand still outstretched. "Hey, my name's Duo, what's yours?"

Quatre grinned and clasped Duo's hand then they showed a handshake. "My name's Quatre. Nice to meet you."

"Oh…" Now she remembered! Jessie told her about this a long time ago! When she first met him! Duo turned back to her and she felt a little bit better.

"Now it's your turn." He held out his hand again. "Hi there, my name's Duo Maxwell."

Aware that everyone was watching her, waiting for her reaction, she slowly reached out and touched his hand. "H-hello… My name is Onie."

"Oh-ny? That's a nice name." Duo commented as he gave a quick handshake then let go to motion to Hilde.

Hilde didn't need any prompting as she moved forward and held out her hand with the same welcoming smile on her face. "Hi there, Onie. My name's Hilde Sch- oops!"

Yvan giggled at Hilde's surprised face while Quatre chuckled.

"Still not used to your married name, Hilde?" Quatre teased while Yvan added-

"I thought you've been waiting ages for that name."

Hilde just shrugged airily then gave Duo an adoring smile. "Slip of the tongue, dearest. I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't, hun." Duo replied with a quick hug. "But I'mma gonna make sure that you remember we're married."

Onie finally found herself smiling at the little display of affection in front of her. Hilde finally turned to her and gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. Let's try again." She held out her hand, "Hi there, Onie, my name's Hilde Maxwell."

Onie responded, touching Hilde's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Hilde."

"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Duo asked as he sat back where they were at previously.

"I am sorry. I'm not used to the custom." Onie whispered as she gripped her cup then stared at the double doors.

Yvan and Quatre sat opposite of Duo and Hilde. 

"Don't worry, Onie," Quatre's calm voice reached her ear. He sounded confident. "Sally is a wonderful doctor."

"I'm sure she is, Quatre…" Onie whispered back. "After all, Jessie was her student, and he is the best I know."

They fell into a comfortable silence, that was… until after some uncountable minutes later when Wufei and Ping appeared and-

"Who are you and what do you know?" Wufei demanded  as he stared down at the woman who jerked back into the wall.

"Wufei!" The combination of four shocked and irritated voices made him turn around and glare at them.

"Way to go, Romeo…" Ping muttered under her breath then she gave the woman Wufei was just shouting at a kind smile.

"Well?! She needs to start talking! We need answers, and I've got a feeling she's got them!"

Quatre was about to talk some sense into him when the double doors opened and Sally walked out looking quite tired. She put up her hand to request for silence then she gave her report. 

"Heero's lost a lot of blood. It's been touch and go, but so far, he's holding up."

Duo nodded, though his face was grave. "Just like Heero… He'll pull through this, Sal."

Sally gave a tired smile. "I know, Duo… you forget, I've been Heero's doctor before." She turned to look at Quatre. "Trowa's body is badly bruised. He has a bad concussion and a bit of singed skin, but so far, he's in a better shape compared to the others."

Quatre gave a relieved smile but Onie quickly shook her head.

"Doctor… please, could you run an internal scan on him?"

Sally frowned. "I already did. Everything checked out normal."

"But…" Onie bit on her lower lip, not quite knowing how to explain.

Quatre frowned, trying to figure out what she's trying to say.

"There's something wrong with him…" 

She was mumbling and everyone had to strain to hear her.

"He woke up one day and he…" There was a catch in her voice as she tried to forget that look. "He didn't look normal… his eyes were blank…"

A number of possibilities ran in everyone's mind, more so in Sally's head, but… "We can't do anything until he wakes up, then… From there we can ascertain whatever damages were made. For now, everything is normal."

Yvan noticed how Quatre's shoulder slumped a bit. Trying to get him to cheer up a bit, she patted his hand. "Quatre, you could give Cathy some good news now."

Quatre squeezed her hand gently, then turned his attention on Sally who was now looking at Onie quite intently.

"J.D… we almost lost him."

Everybody saw how Onie had clutched the base of her throat. Sally quickly touched her shoulder to give comfort.

"It's all right… we were able to stabilize him. He and Heero are both quite the fighter. They don't want to let go of their life yet."

Onie nodded, a smile slowly lighting her face. "Good…" She nodded, straightening her back. "Good…" She looked at Sally, her chocolate brown eyes with an intelligent shine. "May I please see them?" Her voice grew stronger with each passing breath. 

Sally almost said no, but what the heck. "Sure." She turned and started to walk to the doors. Onie followed her, her head held high. Sally was about to open the doors when Quatre's startled voice made her turn-

"Onie!"

Sally saw Duo move just before the girl crumpled to the floor. One didn't need to ask what made her black out, the reason clear on her face… The girl was exhausted, an exhaustion beyond endurance. "Duo, can you carry her?"

Duo nodded as he sprang up to his feet. "She's as light as a feather."

"Follow me." Sally ordered as she turned to the other hallway and led Duo out of there. The others followed suit, wanting to know which room Sally had picked. It ended up to be the one next to Relena, making some a bit anxious.

Once Sally had tucked the girl in the bed, she turned to the others. "Quatre, you said her name was Onie?"

"Yes I did."

"Last names?" Sally prompted, as she leaned against the cot.

"She didn't say any." Quatre answered, looking down at the girl's face. "Poor girl. She looks like she's been through hell."

"With Heero and Trowa in the backseat of her car?" Duo shrugged, "Hell might be a light term for it."

"Well, the fact is that she's wearing _their_ uniform… and so was that J.D. guy you know, Sally. Trowa, too." Wufei groused as he crossed his hands over his chest.

Ping nodded, agreeing with him for the first time in days. "We've searched the area. Where could they have hidden after the explosions? Besides that, what does she know?"

"Well, we could wait for her to wake up," Hilde whispered, combing back her hair, "or-"

"Or we could ask that woman named Dorothy." Yvan supplied.

Everyone turned to face Yvan. Ping nodded. "You're right… She was the insider, she might know who this girl is."

They paused when the bed rustled and everyone turned their heads to look at the bed. Onie had turned to her side, a frown on her face.

"Don't leave me… I promise… tell Dorothy…"

"Well, that sums it up! Guess Dorothy made more than an introduction if that girl's making promises to her even in her sleep. Besides, there's only one Dorothy that we know of who's been in that stinking compound." Duo cried as he slapped his palm on his leg.

"That may be true, but who was the other Trowa with that woman named Midii?" Quatre asked in a low whisper. "And, who's Jessie?"

Nobody answered. Nobody could. Although… Sally suddenly looked at the white wall at the far end of the room with a bit more interest than the others.

"And aside from that retrospect, who will tell Relena that Heero is alive?" Quatre added. "I am willing to talk to Cathy. She will be passing by to get the paper works from the results of her gene test tomorrow as a memento, so I'll try to get to her before she comes in-"

Sally sighed. "I'll tell Relena about Heero."

Everyone nodded.

"And what about her?" Wufei asked, not hiding the snarl that left his lips. 

"Duo, and I could look after." Hilde suggested as she linked arms with her husband.

"And I will go and find Ms. Dorothy Catalonia." Ping added.

"No."

Sally's quick tone made everyone look at her with a question in their eyes. She looked away. "I need to talk to Ms. Catalonia about a personal matter. I will also tell her to see Onie and warn her that we expect full cooperation."

Nobody questioned her. She may say that she was only a lowly doctor, but everyone in the room, save for Ping and Yvan, owed her their life one way or the other.

"Well then, we all know what we're supposed to do. I believe it's time to act it out." Sally said in a soft but firm tone.

Everybody murmured their agreement, but Quatre asked, "Could we do it tomorrow? It is a bit late for a visit…"

Duo quickly checked his watch and whistled. "You're right about that!"

Sally nodded. "I think we could wait for a couple more hours."

Quatre half smiled as he acknowledged her decision. " I was also wondering if we could visit Heero and Trowa? I know they will be asleep but…"

"Of course." Sally looked down at Onie then at Duo and Hilde. "You two can come along. I don't think she's going anywhere anytime soon." She turned on her heels and she could distinctly hear everyone in the room following her. They were all together at last. Nobody was lost… although… they have yet to see if the three patients are _fully _there…


	71. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 11

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Eleven

By Heartfire

~*~

The soft moan from the cot made Duo and Hilde open their eyes and sit straight to peer into the girl's face. It looked like she was coming through… Hilde yawned, still a bit sleepy, while Duo rubbed a hand upon the bridge of his nose then stretched. They had fallen asleep on the couch Sally had asked some people to bring in, and it wasn't exactly in a nice position, although having his wife next to him made it more bearable.

"It's about time… I was getting worried." Duo muttered as he walked to the blinds, east of the room, to put a shade over the bright sunbeams that might give one that had been through heavy sleep a headache when forced to face the light. The kid on the bed hadn't made a single noise since she fainted, and having heard her utter a moan was just wonderful.

"Oh please… You sleep worse than she does." Hilde chided with a harrumph.

"Heey!" Duo quickly turned to glare at his wife but he couldn't when he saw the twinkle in her eyes. He answered her merriment with one of his own as he gave her a wicked grin. "If I recall correctly…" He slowly walked to her, almost as though a predator hypnotizing a prey. 

Hilde's smile widened as her pulse raced faster. She loves it when he looks at her as though ready to devour her.

"I couldn't even wake you up on our first night… that was, until I started…" He licked his lips wickedly and Hilde shivered, remembering exactly what he did.

She crossed her legs, putting pressure upon that aching center as she quickly glanced at the girl on the cot and hid her blush. "Hush! She might hear you!"

Duo chuckled as he closed the distance between the two of them, leaned down and started nuzzling her neck. He heard a quick giggle from Hilde, but when he lovingly bit her, suckled her, and made patterns on her neck, he felt her slacken, take in a deep breath and sighed in such a way that made his blood boil hot.

She leaned back against the couch's backrest and he followed, not breaking contact. He felt her head brush against his, cuddling him and he slowly trailed his lips up to her ears to nip at her lobe playfully and to whisper, "Good morning, _my very own_ wife." God! He loves saying that!

  "Hmmm…" 

Duo felt her move, but he wasn't expecting her to slide her hand under his pants to cup his bottom! He gasped and straightened to look down on her face, and found her grinning up at him wickedly. She usually was so shy with these- I mean, she would kiss him passionately in public, but nothing else! 

"Good morning, _my very own_ husband."

Duo was about to say something to her when she did something with her fingers that sent a delicious shiver all over his body, and completely made his little Duo respond. "Man oh man, Hilde…" He was about to devour her lips, but a choked gasp from behind made them quickly let go of each other to stare at the bed. They saw the girl- thankfully looking away from them- slowly tilt her head to glance around until her eyes found them. There was confusion in them, and then slowly… realization seeped in them.

"Good morning, Onie." Hilde whispered as she stood up and walked to the girl with Duo right behind her.

"How ya doin'? Feeling better?" Duo asked as he leaned against her bed.

Onie squinted at them then smiled without humor. "I'm fine. Thank you, Duo and Hilde." She looked down at her hands as she remembered everything. For a second there, when she woke up, she thought that she was back home, and then she opened her eyes and she just didn't know where she was! When she eyed the couple, their friendly faces, she remembered that the doctor said everyone was alright. It eased her fear, but she still could feel that cold hand about her.

"Onie…?" Hilde's hand paused in mid air when the girl jerked her body away before she could touch her. She saw how Onie looked at her hand then up at her face with silent apology.

"I'm sorry… I'm just not used to…" Onie bit down on her lip, not knowing how to phrase it.

"Hey, it's fine. We're strangers to you, right? We understand." Duo chimed in, his voice friendly as ever. Hilde's nod and smile was also a nice addition.

Onie took in a deep breath and told herself to calm down, though her mind was on something else. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, Quatre and Yvan went to see Cathy today and Sally's- what?!" Duo whined when Hilde elbowed his stomach.

"She meant her friends, dummy." Hilde whispered with an exasperated look.

Duo wrinkled his nose as he gave a smile that wasn't even apologetic. "Er…" It didn't matter though, because at that moment, their patient chuckled softly and that strained air was gone. 

Onie covered her lips with her right hand. It feels as though it's been so long since she'd laughed that her cheeks feels like unused rubber!

"By the way, Sally told us that if you want to see Jess and Trowa, you're more than welcome to." Hilde chirped with a happy smile.

With an enthusiastic nod, Onie quickly flipped her blanket away from her body and stood up. "Please! I'd like to see them very much."

Hilde nodded, thanking Sally for thinking ahead and giving Onie some nice pajamas while Duo grinned at her enthusiasm. 

"Alrightie! I'll lead the way!" Duo hooked his arm around Onie's arm, and Hilde did the same thing, imitating the Scarecrow, the Lion, and Dorothy as they made their way down the yellow brick road to the wizard's palace- or in this case, the pristine white floor to-

"Oh yeah… who do you want to see first?" Duo asked, inclining his head to the kid in the middle.

"Oh…" Onie looked down at her feet. She really would like to see Trowa first, but… she's still a bit afraid of that empty look… "Jessie, please."

"I take it that you don't know who Heero is?" Hilde asked, trying to gather any information from her to ease Wufei's interrogation. She noticed Duo's knowing nod and knew that her husband understood what she was trying to do.

Onie innocently shook her head. "No, I don't. I've never seen him in my entire life… According to Jessie, he just found him on the day that…" Her lively tone wavered and disappeared while her head and shoulders drooped as she remembered… Her father… 

Duo and Hilde looked at each other, finishing Onie's sentence- 'On the day that the building blew up.' Which brings around the question of… who she was? What was her importance? Why was she in that compound? How did she survive? They were both itching to ask that question, but they knew that they should wait. With another nod to each other, Duo cleared his throat.

"So… Jessie… Is he your boyfriend?" 

Hilde rolled her eyes at the audacious question while Onie frowned up at the braided man.

"Boy friend?" She tilted her head, not understanding why he would ask such an obvious question. "Well, I suppose that since he is a man, and he is a friend, then… yes. He is." She placed her attention back on the hallway. "Are we there yet?"

Hilde glanced back at Duo who had a comical confused look upon his face as he silently, exaggeratedly, mouthed 'Oookay…' She grinned and answered with a silent, 'She got yah!'

Before Duo could comment, Hilde announced, "Hey! Here we are! Jessie's room!" Hilde was about to open the door when Onie placed a stopping hand on her.

"I was wondering if I could do this alone…"

Those chocolate pleading eyes, how could she say no? "Sure… We'll be right out here."

"Thank you." 

Duo and Hilde didn't have to urge her to go inside and when the door was securely closed, Duo started his barrage.

"So, we know that she doesn't know Heero-"

"And," Hilde added, "She doesn't know a fig about relationships."

"Or maybe," Duo leaned against the wall as he blew a lock of hair away from his face, "She was just acting."

Hilde shrugged as she burrowed her way inside Duo's embrace. "She's one good actress, then, because she got me." She heard his soft sigh and felt his chest heave.

"Yeah… I hear that. She got me too." Duo sighed once again. "How old do you think she is? She looks like she could only be fourteen years old."

"Who knows?" Hilde asked as she brushed back her hair. "Until she tells us anything, I'm not about to jump to any conclusions."

"Ah well…" He squeezed Hilde into a tighter embrace then leaned his chin against her head. "Wonder how the others are doing. I'm itching to go tell Relena that her lover boy's just around the corner."

"Lover boy…?"

Duo and Hilde quickly let go of each other and turned around… only to find the owner of the confused voice looking at them with those puzzled blue green eyes.

"Er… Relena…" Duo inaudibly gulped, wishing he had shut up. Then again, how could he have known that Relena would pick this day out of all days to finally get up from her bed and take a walk?

"Hilde? Duo? What were you talking about…?" She couldn't have heard them correctly… She was trying so hard to stop her heart from beating its hopeful tempo after she accidentally overheard them… She was just going to sneak up on them, tease them, but right now… after hearing those words… Could it be? 'Oh please God… Please…'

**…**

"Go on…" 

Yvan's soft voice held the confidence Quatre needed for this moment. It was almost ironic how easy it was to talk to chairmen, delegates, and presidents, when giving bad news, but not so to friends when you are about to give some… questionable news.

Questionable because… they still did not know who that other Trowa was… and they still do not know if there was something wrong with Trowa- just as Onie had mentioned.

Not to mention that a few days ago, Catherine just found out that Trowa and she were actually… related! That Trowa was her long, lost brother! Having learned that, she became more imbued to give Trowa a proper funeral, and that includes a few days of mourning of which, today was one of such…

So… how could he break the news that Trowa was actually alive to someone who's mourning his death? _With_ a body, _and _DNA to prove that it was the same person?! Well… the DNA was a bit off… but only for a couple of percentages…

"We could do this later." 

Yvan's soft voice penetrated through his thought clouded brain and he finally moved. Quatre gave her an apologetic smile then took a deep breath. 

"No. We're here. We might as well do it." His hand turned into a fist… then knocked on the hotel room's door…

**…**

Sally looked up from her teacup as Dorothy regally walked into the elegant sitting room. It was really enchanting how her hostess could catch those tiny rays of faint sunlight to make her look anything but the hard headed woman she truly was. "Nice of you to join me, Dorothy."

Dorothy inclined her head in greeting, her face as emotionless as she could make it be. "Hello, Sally." She sat in front of the sandy blond haired woman and reached for her own cup of tea. It wasn't but mere minutes ago that her maid had told her that Dr. Poe was around for a visit, and she ordered her maid to serve Dr. Poe with tea and cakes. After all, Dr. Poe did look after her when she had fainted dead in Relena's room. It was only fair that she repaid her kindness. "Did you come here to inform me of what Commander Chang is about to do? The deadline is closing in on us quite rapidly."

Sally quickly shook her head, observing every flick of eyelids, every tilt of Dorothy's head to gauge what she was looking for. "No. I have no idea what Ping and Wufei are up to… especially since we had quite some interesting developments that happened last night."

Dorothy's lips thinned as she drank her tea without a care about what those developments were. 'The incompetent fool does not know what little time he has…'

"Actually, I came here for another matter." Sally leaned to the table in front of her and deposited her cup and saucer. She knew she had Dorothy's attention by the time she straightened on her seat, and the raised eyebrow that came from the person in front of her only hinted that she was correct.

"Am I going to have to guess on this matter, or are you going to tell me?" 

Sally nearly smiled at Dorothy's haughty exterior. She knew full well how a person could use such personality to keep oneself from getting hurt. "Should I layer it with frills, or should I just-" 

"Just plain black and white." Dorothy snapped impatiently, wanting to know what else Sally might have that could interest her.

"Well, good." Sally leaned back against the backrest. "You see, there's no other way to say it except in two words."

Dorothy tapped her index finger against the saucer with annoyance as she prompted the doctor yet another time. "And those words would be…?"

'Here it comes…' Sally took a deep breath then stared at Dorothy straight in the eyes. "You're pregnant."

**…**

They were silent… For the first time since she had met them, they were silent… Now of all times… "Is there something I must know? Something that concerns me?" She asked again, just to make them talk… just to know.

Duo felt Hilde's quick squeeze on his hand. There wasn't anything else to do. Might as well tell her and go against Sally's plan. Besides, he knew that whatever happens, Hilde will stand by him. "Uh… Rel… You know how Dorothy gave you some bad news a few days ago…?"

"Concerning Heero? Yes." Relena nodded, her eyes shuttered. Nobody but Dorothy and Sally knew of her little secret yet… Nobody.

"Uhm… we all thought that… well…" Duo ruffled his hair and beseeched Hilde to help him out with his eyes. It wasn't as if the news they were going to tell her was bad, it was good! It's just that… it was kinda hard… 'Man! If this is how hard it is to tell Relena, I wonder how Quatre's doing…'

"What he's trying to say, Relena, is that," Hilde smiled softly, her eyes showing her news before she could say it. "Heero's alive." She walked closer to Relena then reached out for her friend's hands. "He's here, Relena… He's here."

For a moment, all Relena could hear was the beating of her heart… That fast paced beat that felt as though she ran for such a long time, at such a long distance. The pain that shrouded her, even with the happy knowledge that she bore Heero's child, slowly fell away from her shoulders. She felt lighter and she let that hope that she bore fly.

"Relena…?" Duo whispered, scared when no expression whatsoever flittered on his friend's face. He was about to panic when a peaceful smile slowly appeared on her face… God! The relief he felt!

"I knew he was alive…" Relena whispered, her faith and trust proving its strength. "I just knew it…" She let go of Hilde's hands to hold her hands together, wishing to open her arms wide and laugh… until… "If he's here…" Relena's smile drooped. "Why hasn't he…?" 

She didn't need to finish her sentence for Duo and Hilde to understand. Why hasn't he visited her? Well… 

Duo gave a faltering smile. "He hasn't woken up yet…" 

The weight of his words glued her feet to the ground and she looked at Hilde for confirmation only to have her other friend nod gravely. 

"How badly hurt is he?" Her hands gripped each other now, asking for strength.

Duo pushed his hand through his hair again, not knowing what else he could do. He knew that she needed to hear the truth. "He was touch and go last night, but Sally stabilized him." His violet eyes caught hers, "He looks like hell, Rel."

"Where…?" Her voice was almost below a whisper, her face lowered to the ground with that cold hand clutching her heart once again. Touch and go? 'No…' Then she felt that unmistakable heat of anger and tilted her chin up in defiance. 'No! He's not going to leave me now! I will not let him make me go through this twice!' She breathed in deeply and raised her eyebrow in inquiry. "Where is he, Duo? Hilde?"

"He's right next door to you." Hilde answered, slightly embarrassed. If she were in Relena's place and she thought Duo was dead when in fact he was just next-door, well!

 "Sally thought-"

"I know what Sally was thinking." Relena interrupted, her tone courteous but curt. "Excuse me. I'm going to visit someone."

Duo and Hilde could only watch as Relena walked, straight backed, down the hallway. They were a bit stunned at her bravado, and didn't know exactly how to put whatever they were feeling in words until Duo whistled.

"Whooeee… Heero's goin' to get it."

Hilde let her breath out slowly. "You can say that again." She was about to say more, but the noise of a doorknob turning made her stop. The couple turned just in time to see Onie walk out of the door, her eyes a little misty. With a sad smile, she looked at the two.

"Could we see Trist-" She quickly shook her head, "I mean, Trowa… please."

"Alright… Let's go." Hilde whispered, trying to make her voice as soothing as she could. It was obvious that the poor girl was crying only a minute ago… Makes them wonder what exactly her role was in this act?

**…**

The biscuit Catherine had been nibbling on fell down on the floor. Its crumbs flew to its side as she stared at Quatre with eyes almost as round as the saucers on the table. "I… I don't think I understand… What do you mean that Trowa isn't… that he's not Trowa…?" She tried to remember the exact words Quatre had used- the man in the hospital isn't Trowa. If that was so, how could it have Trowa's DNA, and hers be…?!

Quatre cleared his throat, aware that he wasn't able to properly give her the news. So many possibilities had passed through his mind before he came to this place, and the only person who could answer that was Catherine. "Tell me… Do you have any other brothers…?"

Catherine shook her head. She could remember her father's doting glance to her mother even though she was nothing more but a child then… She was sure she did not have any other! Her father did not _dally_ with other women! "No! I can't have! I only have…" Her voice cracked as emotions rushed through her again. "Had one… Trowa… my little Triton…"

Quatre shook his head once again. It couldn't be possible that Cathy only remembers one when there were two! "Are you sure?"

"Quatre, why the heck are you asking those questions?"  Keith nearly bellowed, for once irritated at Quatre since they met.

Quatre met their eyes squarely, feeling as though nothing made sense any more until Yvan's light touch reminded him of what he does know. He swallowed before he began. "Cathy, Keith… Trowa just came home yesterday…"

Cathy slowly shook her head, entirely too confused… Joy and dread, pain and anticipation, questions with no answers rushed through her, nearly making her lose her breath. 'How…? How could it be…?'

"He's alive, but unconscious." Quatre continued as he looked away. "We're also not sure if he's… fully well as of yet since he has yet to regain his consciousness."

Cathy's hand reached for Keith's- icy cold being engulfed in warmth. She almost could not find her voice, but she forced it out. "Take me to him. I want to see him." 

Quatre nodded in understanding, though he already knew the outcome. Yesterday, when he visited Trowa's bedside… he knew. One look and he knew that this was his friend. That it truly was Trowa… and that was what Cathy wants to know. 

**…**

Dorothy blinked her eyes for a couple of seconds, her gaze slowly slipping from Sally's clear ones to look upon her teacup. It was a surprise that her hands weren't shaking, but her breathing was caught and her throat felt dry. 

'Pregnant…' Her mind echoed blankly as she slowly bent to the table to let her cup and saucer go before she spilled any upon her. 'I'm pregnant…'

Sally wasn't sure about Dorothy's reaction. The woman seemed just as cool and composed as ever.

Just as her fingers unclasped themselves from the porcelains, Dorothy's numb mind slowly registered emotions she could not name. Her hands went to encompass her belly in an all too familiar act of protection, then she proudly lifted her eyes towards Sally, challenging and regal as ever. "Do you want to make something of it?"

The right tip of Sally's lips lifted upwards ever so slightly. 'So… maybe she isn't as indifferent as I thought she would be.' She shook her head. "No. I'm only here to give you the news since the results from your fainting spell came back yesterday."

"Good." Dorothy answered, tilting her proud chin higher. Was this how Relena felt when she found out that she was pregnant? A sadness and hopefulness at the same time? She's pregnant… a token of Jess' love, and she would treasure all scant memories of him. She will raise her child and tell it, whether it may be a boy or a girl, about Jess. Tell them in stories that they may be proud of.

"By the way…" Sally interjected as she noticed how Dorothy's gaze had grown into a far away look. "Though you seem very much inclined to show disinterest to the developments I've hinted about, I think that you should be more interested-"

"Now why should I?" The glare was back in Dorothy's eyes. She was thinking of which estate she would raise her child, and the nerve of this woman to interrupt!

"Because…" Sally swirled the now cold tea in its cup. "She mentioned your name."

"_She_…?" Dorothy's right eyebrow shot up in both question and threat.

"I believe that her name is Onie." Sally put down her cup, slyly looking up at Dorothy's face and seeing recognition before the woman could hide it. "She came bearing gifts."

'Her name is Onie…? Her?' Dorothy frowned. There was only one person she knew with that name… She heard it the first time she saw Jess… Blake's son, and yet, here Sally was, addressing Onie as though a girl! Could it be…?

Her quick memory did not fail her as she recounted her past experiences with the child, and she remembered that it was her hasty judgment, along with irk for Jess during their first meeting, that she passed Onie as Blake's son… although, couldn't baggy clothing and a cap entirely hide a girl beneath…? Had she made a mistake…?!  And if Onie was here…

Her stomach clenched and her hands fisted around a part of her clothing as she pierced Dr. Poe a searching glance, not daring to hope. 'What were her gifts…?'

Sally saw the question in her eyes and nodded, telling her that she will answer without prompt. "She brought Heero, barely alive, and Trowa with her… they're here."

Dorothy kept from breathing. Heero and Trowa were alive… That would be good news for Relena and how she envy her that her love returned… but she wasn't holding her breath for that… she was holding on to it because Sally still have something she hasn't mentioned… and dare she hope…? Onie and Jess were good friends… "She only brought Heero and Trowa…?"

Sally shook her head. She personally didn't mention her student since she didn't think Dorothy would care about it, but that curious quelling gaze of hers was hard to resist. "There was another she came in with."

"Who?" Dorothy demanded. 

Sally blinked at the harshness and suddenness in Dorothy's voice. "Nobody you'd know."

Dorothy slapped her palms down on her antique table that was the only thing that separated her from choking the name out from Sally's lips. "Who is it?"

Sally's skin crawled from Dorothy's dangerously low whisper. She had thought that she was used to such tones, but… guess she was wrong. "His name is Jess-" Sally's voice faltered, not finishing her words when Dorothy's head fell to her chest… and her words eluded her when she heard a distinct chortled sob from the woman in front of her… 

Before she could ask any of the questions that were raging in her mind, Dorothy had straightened from her hunched position and quickly ran out of the room… leaving Sally quite alone with no one to answer her questions anew.

**…**

Relena's heart started to pump faster as she neared her room. Duo had said that Heero was right next door to her, but- she looked at the two doors beside her own- which one? Her steps faltered as she tried to decide which course to take, then she finally shrugged then placed a hand on her abdomen. 

"We wouldn't know until we tried, would we, dearest?" Relena whispered to her child- to _their _child. She walked to the room closest to her, opened it and saw a vacant room. 

"Well… I guess that leaves only one more door to check for your daddy." She murmured to their child as she walked to the other choice. With strength she couldn't begin to explain, except that it stemmed from the need to see him again, she opened the door.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the bed with that familiar tumble of brown hair and her hands went up to her lips as she closed her eyes. She drew in a shuddering breath. Only a few of days ago, she received the news that he was dead, but she hoped that he wasn't… and now, her prayers were answered.

He's here. Finally, back to her.

Oh, she knew exactly what he did. Mariemaia told her everything that happened in the hospital from the moment she lost consciousness. And though she somewhat wondered whether the child had fabricated her story a tad bit, especially since she couldn't imagine her Heero mad with anger or crying, she still felt that there was truth behind it because… she thought she saw tears before she drifted into darkness.

And if that was so… if it were so that he did go to exact revenge because of what happened to her, then… the chances for a _them_ to exist were greater than she had ever expected.

And here she was, just standing by the door, not doing anything.

She dropped her hands to her sides, opened her eyes, and lovingly smiled at him as she slowly ambled to his side, careful of her still healing wound. The skin might look as though nothing had penetrated it because of the skin rejuvenations, but the inside still hurts a bit. 

Relena stopped beside Heero, drinking in the sight of him like a drowned man to water.  He didn't look like 'hell' at all… although she could smell that the morning nursing crew have already been in the room since she could detect the faint odor of shaving cream, and she could tell that Heero just had a nice shave. 

"Well… Here we are again… In another hospital, with me visiting you. It's almost a full circle, Heero." She whispered as she reached out to touch him, just to make sure she wasn't imagining him. His hair felt a bit rough, but his skin… Oh, how she remembers his skin… "But this time, you won't leave until you give me answers…"

Her voice sounded strong, and she felt strong. Looking around, she saw a small chair against the wall, right next to the small table and she pulled it next to his bed to wait him out. 

Nobody is going to be able to remove her away from him.

**…**

She was so anxious to see him that when she noticed both Duo and Hilde eyeing one door, she knew that behind that wood was the room where Trowa was resting. Mentally asking no one in particular for him to not be in the same shape as her dearest friend seemed to be, she walked through the door, forgetting to close it behind her as her eyes found the bed and the person who lay on it.

She forgot all about the couple as they hovered just outside the door, watching her while she silently walked up to Trowa's side and, after a moment's hesitation, reached out to touch his hand.

It was cold and she only thought of warming them when she brought it to her face, to lay her cheek within his palm and to give it a kiss. With her back to the couple by the door, she didn't see the look of shocked disbelief upon their faces as they stared at her.

Keeping his hand within one hand, she leaned over him and brushed the errant lock of hair away from his face. "Trowa…?" He was fast asleep, but there was no harm in asking, or checking…

He didn't stir at all and she sighed, whether in relief that she would be saved from that same blank look, or disappointment from another day of not being able to stare into his calm, beautiful, forest green eyes. 

'At least…' Her eyes strayed to his lips- there were no respirators to block his lips… and slowly, she bent over his pale, chapped lips.

Her eyes were only for him that the movements by the door, a man with braided hair who seemed to be going through a curious kind of apoplexy, didn't even register. She gave him a kiss, not worthy of the last one they shared, but it was the best she could give at the moment, then she lay her head down upon his chest and tried to bring comfort to her mind at the sound of his wonderful heartbeat.

"Please wake up soon, Trowa… Please…? You and Jessie are the only ones who are left to me in this world… I don't know anybody else… I miss you so much it hurts. Please come back to me…"

She meant every whispered word as though she was fighting for her own life, and she squeezed his hand, just to accentuate that fact. "I've lost everything else… please don't let me lose you… Not you." A tear slowly trailed down her cheek from the corner of her eyes as she stared at his face. "I just need to see that you're all right again… Just look at me and show me that you know me… please."

Onie hadn't even realized that she had reached out her hand to touch his lips, to trace his face, his eyes, his nose… When she cupped the side of his face to let her thumb trace his lips once again, she blinked.

Was that a movement…?

Abruptly, she stood up when she felt a shuddering, deep breath, but her eyes never left his face. "Trowa…?"

She saw movement on his eyelids, his chapped lips parting, and then… his wonderful forest green eyes opening! And… Oh, the Lords! She thought she was going to faint from joy! He had looked at her! He was looking at her and she could tell that he was remembering…!

"Oh, Trowa…" She was about to hug him in joy, but she stopped halfway through when his eyes slanted and grew indifferently cold. Her fingers started to feel that familiar nervous feeling of iciness. There was something wrong here… Trowa had never looked at her in such a manner!

"Trowa…?" She leaned forward, about to touch him, but he moved, though it was barely a movement, she could tell that he had moved _away_ from her! She raised his questioning eyes to his, and that frosty look coupled with burning anger was there… aimed directly at her! 

His lips opened as though ready to talk, but no sounds came out. He closed them then she saw him swallow before he tried again… and the words she heard were words she thought she would never hear from him…

"Get… away… from me…"

A chill went through her entire body as she stared at him with incredulity. Her breath seemed to have left her as she tried to put a word to most of the thoughts that were tumbling within her. "What…?"

He saw her grow pale, though he wished he hadn't because he was aching himself as he whispered the painful words that could have only come from that wound she had inflicted upon him. How could she look so pained when it was he who had lost his only brother after only meeting him most recently? "I said…" His voice became clearer, his old strength coming back to him, and for the first time in years, he actually truly became vehement. "I said, get away from me."

Onie's hands fell down to her sides. Her eyes wide with undisguised horror and confusion as she took a step back from him while he weakly tried to sit up.

"But… why…?" She didn't do anything. She lost her father because she was with him! She lost the only place she knew because of him, and now she was the one on the wrong?!

His gaze grew a million times more bitter. "You of all people should know. You're nothing more but a traitor." His voice was low but deadly clear. "They trusted you and you killed them…"

Onie couldn't understand until… somehow, in the back of her mind, her logic and reasoning started to work once again and she started to realize that her hopes of Midii and Tristan being alive was for nothing… that he blamed her for what happened…! "But I didn't-"

Trowa snorted, surprised at the amount of anger he was showing. He never did this. "You're right. You didn't do anything _but_ tell your father where they were so they can do your dirty work for you. Too bad it blew up before I got in it."

Her head started shaking left to right as her hand went up to cover her lips. 'Oh God… he blames me!' Was that how low he thought of her? Just because she was her father's daughter…? Did he truly think that she was capable of what he had said…? 

"I don't ever want to see your face again…"

Her heart broke into a million pieces before she could turn and run away… She wanted to look in his eyes one last time to make sure, but his words and tone were full of meaning enough. Then, before she passed the couple by the door, before she could actually get outside of that door, she heard his last words-

"Go and run… that's the only thing you do best."

She pushed against the couple in front of her, ashamed, disappointed… hurt. Oh God, how she hurt! She was running so blindly down corridors which almost looked like her father's compound that when she turned a corner, she half expected to find the entrance to her garden, and not finding any but a plain white wall… she didn't know what else to do but to cry right there and then… 

Everything she knew was gone… She doesn't even have the comfort of her garden anymore… then again, even if she was in there, Trowa's presence among her plants would still be there to make her crazy…

She reached out in front of her, her tears blurring her sight that she couldn't tell how far away she was from the wall until she touched it. She leaned her forehead against it and let her tears fall free. "I want to go home… Oh mama… I want to go home…" Wherever home was, she just wants to go there. Her knees trembled and she let herself slide down the wall, crumpling into a ball as she wept her silent cries and let the raging waterfall inside her out.

She didn't even notice that someone was behind her… but when she felt that touch on her hair, that soft arm around her in a womanly embrace she thought she would never again feel, she thought that maybe, her mother had finally heard her prayers and was there with her. But one watery look only showed Hilde… Hilde with an open face… a welcoming face and open arms and it was those open arms that were her undoing as she went into them like the little child that she was a long time ago, and cried her heart out for everything… letting Hilde's voice soothe her…

**…**

Dorothy nearly ripped her purse apart as she looked for that annoying Preventer's ID that Une gave her. When she finally found the dratty old thing, it took all her strength to appear composed as she handed it to the inner secretary. "Commander Change assured me that I could go to any room I wish. I'd like to know which room Preventer Jess Daniel Callum is in."

"Just a moment, ma'am." The secretary in a lighter shade of the original Preventer uniform typed something on her monitor, then turned back to smile at her. "He's on the Fifteenth floor, Room 45, ma'am."

Dorothy nodded and forced her feet to not run to the elevator. All sorts of questions fluttered through her as the elevator slowly brought her to her floor. Why hadn't he contacted her? How did he survive Heero's surprise attack? How could he just stay in one room and not tell her he's all right! Ohhhh! She could kill him. She honestly could!

She flipped her hair over her shoulder as the door opened. "Just you wait, Jess Daniel Callum… I am not one to play with!" Dorothy muttered as she stomped, rather gracefully, down the hallway, trying to find the damn-

"Forty-five…" Dorothy grumbled darkly as she wrapped her hand around the knob. He made her think that he was dead when well in fact he was alive?! "You are not going to forget this." She didn't even bother to announce herself as she opened the door, ready to shout… only for her anger and the scream to die in her lips… 

"Oh, Jess…!" Her purse dropped as she took in the sight in front of her… Jessie with a small respirator that covers half his face and IV tubes running from his left arm to that bag of blood… 

She slowly walked to his side, stared down at his pale, badly bruised face, and checked his bandaged arm… "What did you do to yourself, my darling…?" She whispered lovingly as her hand reached out to touch his hair, to brush it away from his brows so she could lean down and kiss him. She traced her lips down the frame of his face and when she reached his ear, she whispered, "I'm here now… I'll take care of you…"

She pulled back, wiped that lone tear that fell down her cheek, and mentally scolded herself. It wasn't a time to cry… It was time to vigilantly look after him.

**…**

Trowa stared after Onie's retreating figure, then his vision widened and he suddenly became aware of the couple by the door… 'Duo?! Hilde?!' He looked around him, hiding the shock at finding himself not in the compound but rather… In the Preventer's main building! 

Duo couldn't stop as he gaped after Trowa, then Onie's running figure, back at Trowa, and back down that hallway where his ward disappeared to… He felt like a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth for the past couple of minutes as he stared at Onie and Trowa, seeing what he couldn't believe he was seeing, and then this?! 

Hilde was first to recover and she turned heated eyes toward the man on the bed. She may not know what had transpired between the two before today, but what he did… what he did to her was… 

'What am I doing here…?' Trowa asked himself as he looked at the couple again, but he wasn't able to voice his question soon enough.

"Trowa, that was callous!" Hilde shouted then she turned away from him to go after Onie, the look on their wards' face speaking so much volume that it touched her.

Trowa's surprise at finding himself in the outside world left him and he once again felt the pain of betrayal from that innocent face. Hilde doesn't understand, she doesn't know what happened.

When Hilde left, that was when Duo was finally able to move. He knew he should try to keep his anger a bit bottled up some more. Onie had somehow managed to make him feel protective of her, probably because… well, she just had that natural innocence that cried out to be protected… and she does need a knight in shining armor now that her true knight just spurned her away… if Trowa truly was her true knight- and he'd still like to know how _that_ came about! I mean, we're talking about Trowa here! Not that he wasn't good looking or something… it's just that… he's Trowa! But, he'll ask about that later, right now… he needs to gather some information.

"Now… what the hell was that about…?" All right… right now, that's as good as he could get. He was used to those frosty looks that Trowa just gave him to stop him from walking closer, thank God for Heero… "Well?"

But Duo saw more as he walked closer to his comrade. There were telltale signs of what Trowa was trying to hide- the whiteness at the corner of his lips, those curled fists to his sides as though just there to support his weight- although Duo knew he'd done that trick when he was trying not to follow after Hilde and telling himself that he didn't like her more than a friend many times in the past… Man… Funny how they were all alike, even though at first you think that you were as different as night and day.

Trowa looked away, but Duo saw a hint of pain and sadness in those green eyes before they became shuttered.

"Just don't fall for her innocent act…" Trowa laid back down on his bed and wished he could pull the covers over his head and just burrow in it. He felt sick enough to vomit because of what he did… no one should know how hard it was to do what he did… "She should be in jail… I wouldn't recommend her running around loose in this building if I were you."

 'Well…' Duo sighed, 'Guess that's all I'm going to get out of him.' He rubbed his hands over his face, made a grimace, then tried another tactic. "We weren't sure if you were the real Trowa… Quatre was pret-ty sure that you're you though. I mean, we have another body in the lab downstairs that's almost got the same DNA as you do so-" Duo didn't get a chance to jump away when Trowa's hand snaked out to grab him on the arm and pull him to the bed.

Trowa's forest green eyes, intense with some unnamed emotion, pinned Duo more than the hand on his arm could. "How many bodies did you find?"   

"About three… two of them came from a bombed station, the other from Wufei's attacks."

Trowa's hand slacked its hold on Duo as he finally truly accepted that his brother and Midii were dead. How could it be? He was the one who led a much sordid life while his brother was the one that… "It isn't fair… I should be the one who's dead…"

At those words, Duo's eyes slanted. "Fair…?" Duo jerked Trowa's shoulder to face him. "What do you know about fairness, Trowa?" He saw Trowa's lips thin into a straight line, but he couldn't stop himself. "You weren't here when Relena almost died… Quatre had been beyond himself trying to prove that you weren't dead. I've seen Cathy cry her eyes out on a body that we thought was you. Not to mention that Onie nearly killed herself trying to get you, her friend, and Heero some help and you thanked her by looking at her as though she's the worst thing that crawled on Earth?! Do you think that's fair, Trowa?!" 

Duo glared down at his friend, his fingers clutching a good amount of the clothes Trowa was wearing. He supposed that it was the tension that he felt this whole time that was coming out… but man! Did it felt good to shout at Trowa.

"What do you mean that she almost got killed…?" Trowa looked at Duo with almost a hidden curiosity. 

"Oh?! So now, you're asking about her when you were so quick to judge earlier?!" Duo gnarled out, letting Trowa go but not letting his eyes stray. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, then Duo opened his lips, but before he could say anything-

"Oh my God… Trowa…"

The two men inside the room turned to the voice and Trowa felt something choke in him. 

"Cathy…" 

A watery smile appeared on Cathy's lips, then she closed the gap between her and Trowa and enveloped him in her embrace. "You came back to me… Oh thank God…"

Trowa couldn't stop himself as he clutched at Cathy's shoulder, inhaling her familiar scent and turning his head to her body to wipe at the sudden tears that escaped their ducts. He could feel her tears seeping against his hospital clothes, but he didn't mind… He needed those tears.

When they finally let go of each other and surreptitiously looked around him, he saw that Duo and Keith left them alone- the door closed. He must remember to thank them. 

"Let me look at you…" Cathy whispered as she caged his face in her hands. 

Trowa felt almost embarrassed as he looked back at her. He saw something in her eyes, something he couldn't decipher, but liked and feared at the same time. When Cathy brushed back a lock of his hair, he almost closed his eyes to savor the feeling of being cared for. 

She didn't know where to start… didn't know what to say except… "How do you feel?"

Trowa half smiled. "Tired."

"I can imagine… with your adventures." Her hands fell down upon the sheets between them, closing over his hands. "Quatre told me that someone brought you here. I'd like to thank that person soon, for bringing you back."

He saw the way she bit down on her lips… couldn't help but feel the different way she was looking at him… "Cathy…? What is it?"

She blinked rapidly, concealing her indecision. Should she tell him? In the end, she opted not to. "Nothing." She almost pulled it through too, if it hadn't been for her infernal tears, trailing down from her eyes at that instant. She saw the stricken look upon his face and she tried to smile at him. "I'm just glad you're alive. I've been worried sick about you… especially when the letters stopped coming…"

He wasn't fooled. There was something else, something that was bothering her. "Tell me."

Their eyes met, trusting yet wary. Confused yet aware… Finally, Catherine cupped Trowa's cheek while her other hand brushed back his hair. It was a sign of love, friendship… and familial attention. 

"You know that I love you, don't you, Trowa? That I love you as if you were my… my own little brother…?" Her eyes were dark with some unfamiliar emotion that Trowa was trying to understand. When he couldn't, he tried to focus on her words and nodded, unable to speak due to something that clogged his throat.

"And… do you love me, Trowa…? Just like you would love an older sister…?" 

This time, there was a slight insecurity in her voice and Trowa couldn't stop himself as he reached out and placed his hand against her cheek. "You have always been my only family." His voice was low and hoarse but when Cathy smiled a watery joyful smile, he didn't mind that he sounded weak just then…

Suddenly, he was encompassed in a tender embrace, Cathy's face against his chest and he had to strain himself to hear her muffled voice-

"I thought you were dead… I thought…" Suddenly, Cathy gasped and quickly straightened away from Trowa, her eyes in turmoil. "Wait… I don't understand…" Something finally clicked in place. Quatre's questions- Trowa's hair and that body… "I used your hair… It was your hair. How could that body nearly have the same DNA structure as…" Her eyes pierced Trowa, "You…?"

Trowa frowned, wanting to ask her questions but refrained from doing so.

Her hand went up to the side of her head, pressing at her temple as she squinted in the distance. "I only have one brother… I only know Triton… and the doctor already told me that we are siblings… but…" she stared back at Trowa, "How can there be two of you…?"

Trowa blinked a couple of times. Did he hear her correctly…? They were- are- siblings…? How could that… He stopped his train of thoughts as he remembered some of his past that had just resurfaced, and what Tristan told him. They did live in a circus… Cathy's been a part of a circus her entire life. He got lost after a fire- and she lost her brother in a… "We're a family…?!" He didn't know whether his voice sounded incredulous, surprised, or happy- or maybe a combination of all three… Who wouldn't be in such a stupor when in less that a couple of weeks, he learned that the only person he considered family is truly family, and that he had a twin brother! He looked at Cathy, waiting for confirmation. When she nodded guardedly, watching his reaction, the only thing he could do was to slump back on his pillow and let the wholeness of it pass.

It was minutes after when the silence between them was broken.

"Are you… disappointed…?"

Trowa shook his head as he looked back at her. "Overwhelmed would be the best word."

Cathy chuckled. "I know the feeling." Then she hitched her hip over his bed and sat by his side. "I am still confused."

"I may have your answers…" Trowa whispered as he imagined his twin. Cathy's touch on his hand brought him back to the present and he looked at her encouraging smile.

"I'm all ears."

**…**

Hilde felt that last shudder pass through her and knew that Onie was finally finished. It was a good, long cry… and she deserved it. "Does it feel better…?"

Onie hiccupped as she slowly pulled away. "A little." She looked up at Hilde and tilted her head in gratitude. "Thank you."

Hilde nodded, though she knew that Onie didn't see. "Here. Lets get you back in your room." She stood up and held out her hand, when Onie trustingly placed her hand in hers, she pulled her up. 

"I…" Onie started then looked away.

Hilde kept quiet. 

"I… I don't want to go back to my room at the moment…"

Patiently, Hilde stood her ground. "Where do you want to go?" 

"Jessie's room… please… I…" Onie blushed embarrassingly. "I don't know how to get there."

"That's alright." Hilde started walking slowly, pulling her along gently. "Look at it this way. You went to a perfectly good place to cry. I didn't see anyone at all." 

Onie frowned. Was she teasing her? When she glanced up and saw Hilde's grin, something akin to how Jessie would, she couldn't help but smile back. "I guess I'm lucky."

Hilde's thoughts went back to the previous night. If she was able to escape an exploding building and drive into a building unscathed- she was more than lucky! She couldn't wait to hear her story. 

They walked in silence until they reached Jessie's slightly opened door. Hilde frowned. She knew they closed it earlier… Well, they might have not. Shrugging her doubt away, she pushed it and had to blink a couple of times as her eyes fell on-

"Dorothy…!" Onie's gasp confirmed Hilde's thoughts. 

Dorothy turned from Jessie's body to the door, her eyes gazing fleetingly upon Hilde, and more intensely on Onie. It was the same face as she had seen before… Yet now, the girl's hair was not hidden under a cap. She was- is- a girl. Now, the only question was whether the girl was an enemy or a friend… then again, Heero, Trowa, and Jessie wouldn't have trusted her with the Preventer's address if they didn't think her a friend. She was fairly certain- no, she was sure that Onie is a friend. More than that, she brought her Jess back to her.

Dorothy stood up and started to walk to the two women. Hilde had the sudden urge to block her way but instead, calculated another way to strike if Dorothy did something she would regret. 

Onie wanted to step back, not able to understand that shuttered look upon Dorothy's face, but she kept her feet firmly on the ground, knowing that if this was the woman Jessie loved, then she shouldn't be someone feared. 

Finally, Dorothy was in front of her, and then Hilde's eyes went wide when Dorothy- the last woman on earth she would have expected to see do such an act- leaned to Onie and encompassed her in a simple hug. 

"Thank you." Dorothy's voice was low but clear.

Hilde couldn't quite believe what she saw and heard. She glanced at Onie and the poor girl was just as surprised as she. Her hands were still by her side that Hilde could only surmise that she was unused to embraces. And then Onie's shocked face softened, her lips curved in a half smile as though she understood something only she could understand and she looked more mature than Hilde right then and there. 

Onie nodded, her fears gone. Jessie had said he wasn't sure if Dorothy loved him, well, here was the answer… and she was more than happy for her friend. "You're welcome."

Hilde glanced from Dorothy to the man on the bed- JD as Sally called him- and slowly understood some significance. The man on the bed was the answer why Dorothy hadn't wanted Heero to blow the base up… and there was more to it- she could tell. 

Dorothy straightened from her and breathed in deeply, trying to contain those wayward emotions that seemed to have been running amok in her lately. 

"Please…" Onie whispered as she glanced at Jessie. "Don't leave his side for long…"

Dorothy was about to answer when her gaze hardened and she pulled Onie to her side then walked in front of her to hide her.

Hilde turned and saw Wufei with his usual angry black cloud, walking towards them. 

"I saw her, Catalonia!" Wufei roared. "She needs to answer some questions!"

"She'll answer them when she's ready!" Dorothy answered back, haughty as ever that Hilde almost wondered if that softer side that she saw earlier ever happened at all! She looked behind Wufei and saw Duo give her a helpless look while Ping only rolled her eyes. 

Wufei stopped just outside the door and sneered. "You were the one who said you only bought us a couple of days."

"Not so you can terrorize a child." Dorothy answered back, her tongue just as sharp. 

Hilde inclined her head forward to stop a smile and she saw Ping do the same thing. Dorothy was actually protecting Onie… this was a sight to see! She was sure that Duo was more than a bit confused. 

"It's all right… I know what I must do." Onie's soft voice floated to everyone just as she stepped away from Dorothy. 

Wufei grinned triumphantly and Dorothy leaned towards Onie. 

"Understand this, you do not have to answer all his questions." She straightened and met Wufei's eyes. "Since it seems that she won't be given a chance to call for an attorney, I will stand as such for her."

A set of expletives rushed out of Wufei's mouth, then his bellow of- "You can't do that!"

"I just did! Now, are you going to waste time arguing about it, or are you going to lead us to a room where we can instigate this inquiry?"

With another grumble, Wufei turned and led the group out. Hilde swiftly caught up with her husband. "Duo, go to Trowa… he'll want to hear this."

With a nod, Duo left while Hilde trailed behind the group. Once, Onie had looked at her. She smiled in encouragement. Dorothy was with Onie and who better to answer back to an angry Wufei but the Ice Queen of the Catalonia family? Onie may not know this, but she has friends in high places.

**…**

Trowa and Cathy looked at each other and finally understood. Everything was clear now, and though they lost a family member, they still have each other. There was silence between them as they thought of Tristan when Duo interrupted.

"Trowa… I thought you might want to know…" Duo's violet eyes were serious, his lips in a straight line. "They're starting to interrogate Onie…"

Trowa didn't have to ask what he meant, but he knew that he would like to be there and hear her confessions. "Do you know the way?" Slowly, with Cathy's help, he stood.

Duo nodded. "Wufei, Ping, Dorothy, and Onie will be in a room, and the others would be behind a glass wall. Usual thing."

Trowa fought against the darkness that wanted to engulf him. He must have been unconscious far too long for his body to react like this. "Lead." He whispered between gritted teeth as he forced his body to follow his command. With Cathy's help, he slowly regained his lost locomotive skills and by the time they reached the room behind the glass wall, he knew he missed some of the questions.

"So, Preventer Callum caught sight of Preventer Yuy and saved him. Did he tell you that he knew who Yuy was?" Wufei asked, his words sniping.

Onie shook her head as she let go of the glass of water, now nearly finished, from her hands.

Trowa thought she was holding off quite well, considering the fact that anyone else who was facing Wufei would be close to tears by now.

"Dr. Matthews-" Onie hesitated then started again while her right hand went up to her forehead as though her head ached. "Preventer Callum was the head of the medical department within the compound. He interacted with all of the soldiers and therefore knew them by name and code number. Preventer Yuy was a new face."

Trowa's eyes narrowed. There was something wrong in this picture…

"All this time, where were you?"

Sadness spoke volumes in her eyes as she answered. "I was… gathering herbs to bring back to the cave when the compound exploded." Onie had to blink. Her eyesight was starting to get questionably dim. "I rushed as fast as I could and when I realized that I lingered longer than I should have, I ran back where I came from. That was when I saw Preventer Callum."

"You brought them back to the cave."

"Yes."

"Whose idea was it to steal the helicopter and set fire to it?"

"Preventer Callum. He said that we couldn't leave it where it was. That it would be for the best to destroy it."

"Then?" This time, Ping asked the question.

Onie looked at her. "Jessie was hurt but he was able to smuggle us into a small airplane. We flew, we stole a car, and he drove partway… but he lost consciousness and I had to drive." She looked at Wufei, her determination clear, though she had to fight to keep from blacking out. "I had to drive if I was to save him. I'm sorry I wrecked your building, but I didn't know how to stop, and… I just had to…" 

She seemed deflated now, and Trowa was surprised when Dorothy placed a hand on Onie's shoulder. 

"Do you know of another compound your father has within India?" Wufei asked, his voice a lot less condemning now.

Onie looked away as she battled with herself. Her father was dead… what is the use of hiding this compound? "Yes." Her voice sounded so hallow.

"Do you know where it is?" Wufei leaned forward ever so slightly.

"Yes, I do…"

"Will you help us stop your father?"

Onie jerked, her head snapping as she stared at Wufei with her mouth open. "But… he's dead…" her voice was nearly a whisper.

Wufei shook his head. "He is not. He is using another compound."

Onie looked at Dorothy, her question in her eyes. When Dorothy nodded, she couldn't quite believe it. "My father's alive?" There may be a chance, then…?

Seconds stretched, and she was suddenly aware of the ticking from Dorothy's wristwatch. It seemed to grow louder with each passing minute, until she finally made up her mind. "I will help, if we do it my way."

"No!" Wufei barked out loud, followed by reasons imbued with expletives. Trowa agreed with Wufei. He will never trust her with such a decision. Everything seemed to have gone wrong as Ping started answering back at Wufei and in the end… behind the glass wall, no one could stand the heated debate any longer that they left… all but for one man… Trowa stared at Onie's face… Her lips and cheeks were turning pale.

"Stop! Please stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She screamed as she pressed her hands upon her ears. Her shoulders shuddered and even Trowa would have to lie if he said that her screams didn't touch him. He was thankful when Dorothy had pressed Onie against her chest in a protective embrace.

"I… I only want a couple of minutes with my father… just a couple of minutes to talk to him… to try to persuade him to stop… just a couple of minutes." 

Her voice was muffled, but every word she uttered felt to have pierced through Trowa.

"I don't want any more blood shed… no more… please, no more…"

In the end, he couldn't bear to hear her cries that made him weak. He was about to leave when Dorothy's gasp made him turn around.

"Wufei! She's not breathing!" Dorothy cried out as she shook Onie's body.

Trowa's throat constricted and his feet walked towards the glass that separated them from him.

"She must be allergic to the truth serum…" Ping muttered as she laid Onie on the floor and started checking her pulse.

Trowa's hand curled into a fist. They must have been desperate enough to give her that damn serum without checking her out first! Trowa watched as Sally and her team ran into the room. Wufei must have called her some minutes ago, but he didn't notice, his eyes only for the woman who had turned deathly pale on the floor. "Come on… breathe… breathe damn you…"

He didn't notice how he touched that glass, how his face was pressed against the wall, and how his breath fogged the mirror as he waited… waited… and finally, Sally leaned back on her butt and smiled. Trowa noticed the almost indistinguishable rise and fall of Onie's chest, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

As much as he hated it, she still had a hold on him… With an effort, he pulled his gaze away from the scene, told himself not to go to her side, and walked out of that room instead.

It seemed that Cathy was still very much in tuned to his feelings since she had only looked at him, walked with him to his room, and left him alone. Duo came in a quarter of an hour later and left a cassette player on the table beside his bed. 

His usual grin was set in a grim line as he eyed the man on the bed. "Listen to this." Then, like Cathy, he left Trowa in his room.

It took Trowa a good amount of time before he was finally able to touch the cassette player and press play… and what he heard as the story unfolded, made his heart constrict. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that she was lying, he knew, deep inside him, that she wasn't… The truth serum in her drink alone… 

He stopped the tape and rewound it. 

"I had to choose between my father and Trowa… do you know how hard that was…?"

He pressed the fast forward button then let go.

"When the cabin exploded… I…" 

Trowa wanted to imagine that she was making some kind of display during that pause, but the gasps and sobs had so much emotion in them…

"I found Trowa on the grass and all I could think of was that I was happy he was alive…"

Trowa closed his eyes, as he listened to an order.

"Go forward a few days later, on the day the compound exploded."

He stopped the cassette and wondered how he could have thought her able to do the things he had accused her of… and he wondered how he could make her find it in her heart to forgive his cruel behavior…

If she could ever forgive him.


	72. Story 6: Wisdom's Harmony 12

Chimera of Life

Story Six: Wisdom's Harmony

Chapter Twelve

By Heartfire

~*~

"I can't believe I let her talk me into this…" Wufei grumbled as he crouched low in the grass then checked his left and right. His men were all in position. The plan was simple. Infiltrate, get the brainwashed people out of there while Onie talks to her father, get the hell out and blow the place to kingdom high. Simple… really… but dammit, he didn't have to agree with _her_ going in with them!

Although, given the fact that she did provide them a layout of the entire compound so they can search and plant more explosives… maybe it wasn't so much a bad exchange. 

Once the plan was set, it seemed that everyone had wanted to go with them. Trowa definitely only gave him that stubborn, blank look… Quatre and Yvan wanted to help as back up, and Rashid, who unexpectedly showed up during the briefing said that since Quatre was going, the Maguanacs, too, would be there. No point arguing with that granite man. Duo and Hilde also forced their hands on him, and he could tell that they were there just to make sure Onie was fine. Thankfully, Dorothy didn't argue to come with them. That was the only silver lining in this damn rain cloud.

His gut still rolled as he remembered yesterday's blunder. He shouldn't have let his anger get the better hold of him… it was his fault that he just forced the truth serum to Onie… Thank God she was all right… Just needed a bit of rest, and then she was even the one who got up early that morning to tell him to set the plan in motion for tonight, considering the length of time Dorothy's bought for them.

He scratched at his cheek, swapped a bug away and, at the same time, stared into the distant area where Ping was supposed to be crouched low. He couldn't see a thing, but he knew she was there… 

Shit… 

He must get his mind off that woman. Was he a sucker for punishment that he's just letting his mind wander like that?!

He looked around again, at that wide-open space of land where the compound was supposed to be then up at the starless black sky… The air was clean, the land was healthy, and the sky was clear… but all this peace hid true danger. That was life. No matter how peaceful one tries to make it, there was still that inevitable threat. 

Damn life to live.

"I'm ready…" 

The voice came from his ear and he tapped the mechanism on his wrist to check as to whether it was in working order or not. A pale green light glowed against the darkness, dots covering the space, and he quickly covered it with his camouflage sleeve. "Fine. Then do it." His voice was gruff, as it had always been, but he doubted if it came across their com links the way he wanted it to.

He narrowed his eyes as Onie's form emerged from the thicket of trees and started walking to the edge of the forest. Near the end, she stopped in front of a tree and placed a hand there. He wasn't really sure what she did, but he was distracted as a pale shimmering of green light started showering in front of them in a beautiful show of light. 

It was beautiful, and it sucked the breath out of him at the same time. It was real… The compound was there, and it was invisible. 

But there was no time to dawdle.

He tapped his earpiece just as Onie started to walk to the main entrance. "Move out!"

**…**

Trowa kept his eyes on her as he slinked towards the door, right behind her. Everyone else were going from the other directions, into the secret panels Onie had pointed out to them in a very crude sketch of the compound, but so far, he was going against the grain of salt. She doesn't even know that he was following her.

He didn't mind, nor did he care. He knew what to say to stop the men in action. He didn't live under the same roof for months and learned nothing!

"Abort action sequence four-ten." He muttered as the two guards stopped him with those lifeless eyes. They stopped as if someone pushed the pause button and he just walked past them. The thing was, he let her get too much of a head start… 

"Where are you…" He pulled the sleeve of his left hand and tapped a couple of numbers. The other dots disappeared on his screen and a single one appeared. It was moving northeast. Without another thought to the two guardsmen, he strode to where she was.

**…**

Her father was a very habitual man. If anything, he would probably be found in his office, and this compound, though smaller, have the same layout as the main one. 

She wondered how he would react when he sees her… she wondered what he would say… she wondered so many things, but in the end, when that door to his office and bedroom was facing her… she didn't know what to do, where to begin, or where her gall went to…

She closed her eyes and scolded herself. There was no time left. Even as she stood there, the others were already setting the detonation devices… so many lives were at stake! With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and pressed her palm upon the scanner on the wall.

The door opened. A slight breeze stirred her hair and she stared at a very familiar oak table, at a very familiar brown chair that was not facing her, and finally, at a very familiar top part of a head…

She hadn't expected the breath of relief that left her, nor did she expect that abandoned feeling that had been slowly eating her to disappear, and finally, neither did she expect herself to whisper the word she thought she would never be able to say to her father again… 

"Daddy…"

The chair swiveled. Piercing brown eyes stared at her through bushy eyebrows that looked at her as though she was some kind of ghost come to haunt him. He suddenly seemed older than before.

"You're dead… I saw the cabin blow up…" His voice was a whisper too.

He thought she was dead? She thought it was the other way around! She couldn't speak. No matter what he had done, he was still her father, and she loved him dearly. He was everything that was left to her. There was no one else… A name tried to make itself known to her, but she quickly stomped on it. He didn't want her. He wanted her to stay away from him… There was no one else but her father. "No… I'm not dead, daddy… I'm alive…"

They stared at each other as he stood up from his chair and walked around the table toward her… There were no words exchanged when he stopped in front of her. They only stared at each other, and then his hand went out to touch her cheek and felt the heat that came from her. "You're alive…" His voice was full of wonder as he scooped her in his arms, and hugged her as if she was his only chance at life… and she did the same, burying her face in his lapels.

"Daddy-"

"My little pie…"

Onie gasped at the words. It had been too long… Oh, how she feels as though all those years, all that distance between them were finally gone, and she tightened her embrace even more so.

"You warned me about that program… You warned me but I didn't listen…"

Onie frowned and tilted her head ever so slightly as she wondered, 'Program…? The one Morley sent…?'

"I sent them after you as a test… I wasn't expecting them… I didn't think that they would kill…"

Onie couldn't believe the sound she just heard… Was her father actually… crying?

As if he heard her question and he wanted her to know, he pulled away and they stared at each other. His face was wet with tears, but she was sure that hers were just as wet.

"I didn't know… believe me. I hadn't expected such-"

She stopped his words with her fingertips. Gently, she shook her head. "There's no need, daddy… I know that you wouldn't hurt me."

Blake nodded, hugging his daughter again. He thought… he truly thought… "I know I haven't been the best father… but I love you, Onie… I only wanted you to live in a safe place… a place where you wouldn't have to worry when you walked down the alley in the middle of the night, or where you wouldn't have to die the way… the way your mother…" He closed his eyes as his memories assailed him… "I didn't want any bastards around you… I wanted you safe… that was all I wanted."

Onie nodded. Somehow, she knew that… but she still needed to hear those words she'd been longing for. There was a hole in her heart that was partially filled by the words she just heard, but she knew that that hole would never be completely filled because she will never hear those words from the other person she longed for. "I love you too, Daddy…" They embraced for a few more moments, until Onie finally leaned back and knew she must explain now, or never. "Daddy… I brought some people with me…"

Her father's expression became shuttered and she quickly added- "Please don't get mad… I just wanted us to live like normal people. They're not going to take you away from me… We'll be together forever, and we won't have to worry about Morley, or…" she looked away, thinking of the brainwashing process. "Or those other things…"

It seemed like hours before she felt his fingers under her chin. She looked up, hoping…

"Is that what you want, my daughter?"

Onie nodded. "No more guns, no more wounds, no more death… no more screams… I'll… I'll tend a garden, and you can still do your work… and I'll cook us food… and we'll eat dinner together… just us, with no one else…"

A sad smile touched Blake's lips as he looked down at her. He had forgotten about those things in life… "Can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

Onie smiled up at him the way she hadn't been able to do since she was but a child. "I love you, Daddy…" then, impulsively, she tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. 

Blake sighed, his wishes completed. Life was all he could give his daughter… it was the only gift he could give… but that would mean ramifications on his part…

He let her go and started to walk to the back wall of his office. He touched the side of his cabinet slightly and the wall slid up to show-

"My things!" Onie gasped as she stared at her lab gears, test tubes, at her mother's picture, and… a family picture of her father, herself, and her mother… a picture she had never seen before, but her father blocked it from her as he walked to it.

"Onie…" Her father's tone was unusually soft. "You must realize that there will always be men out there who will be after what I know…" 

He turned around and Onie saw that he was holding on to the photograph that she was just staring at… "My friends will protect us…"

Again, her father gave her that sad smile as he neared her, then, he took her hand and placed the frame on her palm. "This is my gold…" He looked at her, and if she ever doubted that he loved her, all those doubts faded with that look. "But you will always be my diamond…"

Onie didn't even look at the photograph as she embraced her father once again. "Oh, Daddy…" 

"I only wanted to protect you." He whispered.

"I know, Daddy." She bit back a sniffle and smiled instead. 

"Live well, my daughter… Taste life as you are supposed to…"

Onie frowned at those ominous words. She was about to ask what he meant when she felt a prick on her neck. Cold liquid coursed through her veins. She gasped in surprise.

"No!" 

'Trowa…?' Onie frowned groggily. 'What-' She felt a kiss on her cheek. "Dad… dy…?" She looked up and saw his smiling face before she blacked out.

**…**

Trowa's heart was going through overdrive as he stared at Onie's limp body to Blake's sad face. "What the hell did you do to her?!" He had seen that _something_ shine in Brandon Blake's hand… he was wondering what it was and was about to shout a warning to Onie, but he was too late and he could only watch as Blake inserted the tip of the needle into Onie's neck. 

Wild ideas propped in his head. He couldn't have poisoned her… He couldn't! No father could…

"Take my daughter."

Trowa looked up from Onie's ashen face and saw Blake's brown eyes turned to him, imploring for him to do so.

"Take my daughter." Blake whispered again, although he didn't want to let her go. 

Trowa walked to him. Keeping an alert gaze on the man, he wrapped his arms around Onie's waist. He was torn between looking after her and capturing Blake when Blake kissed Onie's forehead then looked at Trowa again.

"Take good care of my daughter, or else I'm going to haunt you even after the day you die." Then he turned away and quickly walked into an adjoining room.

"Blake!" Trowa dragged Onie with him to follow, but Blake pushed a hand against the wall, and a thick steel door suddenly blocked the passageway. 

Trowa stared at the door, angry and confused. He saw the whole thing, heard the whole thing, and felt every emotion that seemed to have gone through father and daughter… how could Blake just do this to Onie- whatever it was that he did to her?!

"Take my daughter out of this place, now, Brigham." Blake's voice came from behind the door.

Suddenly, everything started to make sense to Trowa… He understood what Blake was going to do…! He scooped Onie up in his arms, pressed his communicator against his shoulder and hoped to God that he wasn't too late- "Everyone get out- now!"

At that moment, part of the building exploded.

**…**

Wufei jerked to a standing position at Trowa's warning, and when he heard the rumble and felt the ground shaking under him, he knew that something exploded out there.  The question was… where?

"Sir! Explosion on Quadrant 4! We lost communication with Colonel Rossi!" Christine's voice sounded competent but he could tell the underlying panic in it… or was that his own? His heart had started pumping faster as he pulled his sleeve and traced Ping's position, trying to locate her while at the same time, trying to reach her through her emergency link. 

"Rossi! Rossi! Grab your damn comm. link and talk, woman!" The room behind him exploded and he was thrown forward. He blocked his fall with his hands and regained his footing in no time at all. He quickly looked back and found the room where he was at moments ago, engulfed in a dust of cloud and flickering with fire.

"Damn…" He switched on the link once again. "Rossi! Answer, damn you!" It seemed like hours before he reached her position and tried to quell that panic that was knocking down at his defenses. The room looked like a twin of the one that just exploded behind him. The roof had caved in, the walls were on fire, electricity sizzled somewhere, and one could almost not breathe in that thick black smoke.

Wufei checked their locator, zoomed into the room, and noted her position. He made a quick scan and saw that she was in the other side of the room… where most of the damage was done. A set of crisp expletives ran through his mind, trying not to let panic engulf him. 

"Hang on, Ping… I'm coming." Wufei sprinted to her position, forcing any kinds of thoughts out of his head. He reached her- or he should have reached where she was, but he was only standing in rubble and cement… "Rossi!!!"  Wufei yelled against the raging fire. He started looking for any loose debris, clawing his way through it. 

He gritted his teeth as he tried to push away a large boulder of cement, then nearly sobbed when he saw a leg in familiar looking uniform and boot. He made the small opening bigger then checked.

"You're one damn lucky woman, Ping." Wufei whispered when he saw that she was actually in a space between half the wall and the floor, only held up by another broken piece of cement.

He pulled her out in one quick tug, then he looked down at her body. She was covered in dust and was unconscious, but other than that, she didn't look like she had any major wounds. "Rossi…" Wufei slapped her face, trying to wake her up. He was not at all that careful with slapping her either.

'Thank God this woman is a light sleeper!' Wufei thought when she started to show signs of waking up. Her eyes opened, hazy at first then it became clearer. For a moment there, Wufei thought he saw something in there that made his heart ache, but it disappeared before he had a chance to make sure. 

"Wufei…!" She whispered and then coughed. Ping shook her head then sat up, she looked around her, a frown on her face. "What the hell...?"

Somewhere, something exploded once again and Wufei acted instinctively as he pulled her up. The remaining roof was shaking in a way that he didn't want to be underneath it any longer. "Let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is!"

He pushed Ping in front of him, and he was thankful that she didn't argue as she jumped, hopped, and ran through the smoke, dust, small licks of fire, and rubble.

Wufei gasped in surprise when he stepped on a weak stone that crumpled under his foot and made him stumble, knocking his knee against a sharp edge of another protruding cement piece. "Damn!" He swallowed a gasp of pain as he clutched at his knee.

Ping stopped just near the door of the room and turned when she didn't hear him following her. "Wufei? You okay?" Concern laced her voice as she saw the pain on his face. She was about to run back to him when he held up a hand.

"Just get out of here! I'll be right behind you!" His grumpy voice asked to be argued with, and Ping was about to do just that when the ground shook again. She grabbed hold of the wall, nearly stumbling, then she turned just in time to see the roof fall down on an unknowing man.

"Wufei!" Her scream didn't help because he only looked at her before he was under that pile of dust, wood, and cement. For a moment, she couldn't move… She could only stare where he was standing at only a few moments ago… just stare… then something clicked in her. She didn't know where it came from. She just knew that the man she loved was under that rubble and damn if she wasn't going to move hell or heaven to get him out of it!

She tapped on her communicator right before she started digging through it, trying to get past the easy obstacles first, her mind checking which blocks of cement were easily removable or not…

"This is Rossi. I need back up here now!"

Her hands bled as they raked through the debris. 

"Ping, this is Quatre. What's the situation?"

She took in a deep breath. "Wufei's under a roof." 

**…**

Quatre walked back and forth as his eyes darted from the crumbling compound to Trowa, Duo, Hilde, and the IA who was looking after Onie. He had wanted to charge in there when he heard that Wufei was… but Rashid had stopped him and promptly had two of his maguanacs restrain him down to stop him from following. 

Damn the man.

"Where are they?!"

He was praying silently when the group emerged from the compound, just as a last explosion shattered the area into an orange and green sprout of fire, then the building collapsed. He didn't care though, because his eyes were on that unconscious man, being dragged across the grass. He didn't have to shout for the stretcher, nor did he have to radio for a helicopter. Everything was ready for them, especially since he gave that order right while his Maguanacs were restraining him. All they needed was a quick open eyed 'I'm okay' from Wufei, then all he has to worry about was Onie…

"Are you sure she wasn't poisoned?" Trowa asked the IA for the fifth time. Quatre checked and sure enough, Trowa was still holding on to Onie's wrist, making sure that there was a pulse.

"Yes sir."

Quatre sighed. He was torn between looking after Wufei and Onie… 

"I'll take care of Onie. You go to Wufei." 

Yvan's voice seeped through him, and he turned around to give her a half smile. She just solved his problem. 

"Thank you."

Without another word, he turned and walked to the group who were nearing them, and motioned for the stretcher. He saw Rashid lay Wufei down on it and the group, mostly Maguanacs, parted for Quatre as he neared.

When he finally reached his friend he was wondering why Ping was on her knees beside the stretcher, looking as though everything had gone stale, he only had to look at Wufei to know that something was wrong with him… Not only was there a bone sticking out of his pant leg… he was completely pale and breathing dangerously slow…

At that moment, a chopper hovered above them, then landed on a safe distance from the still fiery compound. The Maguanacs hurriedly brought the stretcher to the chopper.

Quatre turned and motioned for Trowa to follow them, and Trowa did, bringing Onie to his chest in a swift scoop, and running after them. 

Quatre helped Yvan into the chopper just as Trowa pulled in from the other side after Duo and Hilde. 

"Still unconscious?" Quatre asked as he looked down at Onie's face.

Trowa nodded, his lips in a thin line, settling Onie across his lap. "I have a bad feeling about this, Quatre…" Then he paused and stared at Wufei. "How is he?"

Quatre shook his head, not even wanting to voice his opinion with Ping so near. 

The chopper flew into the air, and they were traveling for God only knew how long when a soft groan caught everyone's attention. 

They turned to Trowa's direction, and everyone saw how he stared at the woman in his arms who was slowly stirring awake.

Trowa swallowed a sigh of relief when her chocolate brown eyes opened sleepily… and then she looked up at him and Trowa knew that he spoke too soon… because at that moment, her eyes had grown wide and then she pushed away from him.

Her reaction was so sudden that Trowa didn't have time to stop her fall and she landed flat on her butt, though that didn't stop her from pulling away from him.

"Onie…?" Trowa whispered, not knowing why she was acting like this. He looked up at everyone else in the chopper and they looked just as confused as he! Trowa inched forward, but she only inched backward. "Onie-"

"I- I don't know who you are… but s-stay away!" Onie back up against the helicopter door, and Trowa thanked the co-pilot for closing it, and at the same time, asked what the hell was happening. "What are you talking about?"

Trowa moved again, and this time, the sheer panic in Onie's eyes was enough to stop him. She was looking at him as though she didn't know him!

"I said stay away! Get away from me!" 

She was shouting, screaming, and by God, she looked as though she was staring at the devil himself. Trowa looked at Quatre helplessly.

"Onie…" Quatre's spoke this time, his soft voice snaring Onie's attention. He has this niggling feeling… and he just hoped he was wrong.

She looked at him warily, but with less panic. 

"Do you know me…?" 

Onie shook her head as she looked around her. When her eyes fell on Trowa, she cringed and instantly looked away. "I don't know you… I don't know any of you…" Then she frowned as though trying to figure something out… Suddenly her eyes popped open, panic so clear you can see her irises. "I don't know who I am…!"

_(**Hearfire's Note**: As I've said before, I'm really sorry for making so many of you wait. Believe me, I would have been updating this sooner! For now, though—**MERRY CHRISTMAS**!!! I hope you all have a wonderful time!)_


End file.
